Participants: Wintley Phipps (Host), Adly Campos, Georges J Fleurimond, Rick Mercer
Series Code: PFM
Program Code: PFM000011A
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00:27 Hi, I'm Wintley Phipps, and welcome to our program,
00:30 Perfecting Me Becoming More Like Jesus. 00:34 I'm so glad you joined us. 00:36 My guests today on our program are Pastor Rick Mercer 00:40 of Morganton Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:42 in North Carolina. 00:43 Pastor George Fleurimond, pastor of 00:45 the West Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:48 and Mrs. Adly Campos, Speaker and President of 00:51 Family Wellbeing International. 00:54 You'll hear from them a little later. 00:57 October 14th, 2012, 01:00 the world held its breath as Felix Baumgartner 01:04 leap from his capsule 01:06 and became a tiny blurry white dot 01:10 against a vast backdrop of black nothingness. 01:14 Moments later, he found himself caught in the dreaded spin 01:19 and millions of people looked on wondering 01:21 if they were about to witness a tragic ending 01:24 to Baumgartner's brave attempt. 01:27 To everyone's relief, he was able to recover 01:30 before safely landing in New Mexico 01:32 less than four and a half minutes later. 01:36 Baumgartner's body reached 01:38 Mach 1.24, 833.9 miles per hour, 01:44 which is faster than the speed of sound. 01:47 Well, that's what happens 01:50 when a person believes in an idea. 01:54 The power to believe is a character trait 01:57 that is ethically neutral. 02:00 It can be used for good or evil. 02:03 It is one of the most important and far reaching faculties 02:07 a person has. 02:09 The power to believe and the ability to choose 02:12 what we believe shapes our lives, 02:15 our circumstances, and our character, 02:19 and behavior. 02:21 And more than any other single factor, 02:24 the power to believe shapes our destiny. 02:29 Today on Perfecting Me, 02:31 we're going to be talking about the power of faith 02:35 and the power to believe, how it impacts, how it molds, 02:40 how it shapes the character of a Christian. 02:44 And you want to stay with us and you will learn so much more 02:48 of how God uses this gift of faith 02:52 to transform our character. 02:59 The power to believe is a gift. 03:03 It is a character trait that is ethically neutral, 03:07 that means it can be used for good or for evil. 03:12 It is one of the most powerful traits of character. 03:18 It is, has far reaching effects. 03:21 The power to believe and the ability to choose 03:25 what we believe shapes our lives, 03:28 circumstances, behavior, and even our destiny, 03:33 sometimes more than any other single factor. 03:36 Training yourself to believe 03:37 requires listening and responding 03:40 to the sense of destiny and God's voice 03:43 inside our souls. 03:44 It means not allowing negative thoughts 03:47 and insecurities to smother 03:49 that voice of God in our hearts. 03:52 Both of those requirements are choices which means 03:56 they are within our power to do them. 04:00 What is the faith and belief that propels you 04:03 toward your destiny? 04:05 Your grandparents might tell you, 04:07 it's faith in the American dream. 04:11 Your college professor would tell you, 04:14 most reality stars will tell you 04:16 that it's faith and believe in yourself. 04:19 A recovering alcoholic struggling 04:21 to rebuild his life will tell you, 04:24 it is faith and belief in a higher power. 04:28 From my own personal experience, 04:30 I will tell you it is faith and belief in God. 04:35 It's easy to believe in what you can see, 04:38 and touch, and hear, but to push yourself 04:42 beyond what is obvious 04:44 and believe in what you cannot initially grasp 04:47 with your own two hands, 04:50 that's when true faith and belief is born, 04:52 that's when you reach beyond your present circumstance 04:56 and you can achieve more than you know to be possible. 05:01 Without the ability to believe, we would be nothing 05:04 more than complicated organisms, 05:07 we would never search for higher life, 05:10 or try to do anything outside the realm 05:12 of existing circumstance. 05:14 We would fail to appreciate what is magnificent. 05:18 Our lives would have no majesty and no meaning 05:22 without believing. 05:24 In the psycho-economy of man, believing is the currency 05:28 that changes everything, 05:30 no matter how irrational it may seem. 05:33 Believing has the power to alter our circumstances 05:38 and rearrange our destinies. 05:41 Faith and belief have proven throughout history 05:44 to have the power to motivate the human heart. 05:47 To believe is to outgrow our fear of not living up 05:51 to our potential. 05:53 For some, ironically, it is the fear 05:56 and growing out of the fear of living up to our potential. 06:01 Believing pushes us to search, and dream, and to do. 06:06 So how does it work? 06:08 Well, you have an idea that presents itself 06:11 but it must survive the filters we have in our minds. 06:15 Filters like culture, rationality, and sensibility, 06:19 filters like prior knowledge, personal judgment, 06:22 and preferences. 06:23 In addition to personal experience, 06:27 and what we already know to be true. 06:30 If the idea that we want to believe in survives 06:33 the swinging axis of our thought processes, 06:37 it is offered up for our consideration to our will, 06:41 which then decides whether or not 06:44 to embrace the idea as a new faith 06:47 and a new belief. 06:49 At that point, we make a choice 06:53 and the idea becomes a new belief. 06:57 Have you ever noticed that 06:58 when someone embraces a faith or belief, 07:01 it's very difficult to change it or destroy it. 07:05 They will defend that faith and belief 07:07 fiercely and loyally. 07:09 Believing is so powerful, it can bend and alter 07:14 our perceptions of reality. 07:17 So be careful what you believe because faith and belief 07:22 become powerful magnets that draw people, 07:25 they draw resources, even destiny to our lives. 07:30 They change the course of your life. 07:33 If you believe you can't, you won't. 07:37 If you believe you can't succeed, you don't. 07:41 When what you believe is stronger 07:44 than what seems inevitable, 07:46 then that faith and belief becomes sacred, 07:49 its powers of persuasion motivates you 07:52 to consider possibilities others haven't dreamed of, 07:56 and they enable you to harness conviction 07:59 and confidence. 08:01 You are inspired by what you believe is possible. 08:06 You may not be trying to break world records, 08:09 but you are called to believe outside of yourself, 08:13 and that faith and belief will move you to action 08:18 because faith and belief are powerful. 08:22 According to a French philosopher, 08:25 "With power and with great power 08:30 comes great responsibility." 08:33 When it comes to using the power of faith and belief, 08:37 that means your faith and belief must be guided 08:41 by an internal compass through the merits of Christ. 08:46 Through His righteousness, by faith 08:50 your belief is, allows righteous character, 08:54 the perfection of Christian character 08:57 to be imputed to you. 09:01 Faith in Christ as the world's Redeemer 09:06 calls for an acknowledgment 09:08 of the enlightened intellect control by a heart 09:12 that can discern and appreciate the heavenly treasure. 09:17 This faith is inseparable from repentance 09:21 and transformation of character. 09:23 To have faith, that kind of faith 09:26 means to find and accept the gospel treasure 09:29 with all the obligations which it imposes. 09:33 Faith in Christ as the world's Redeemer 09:37 will allow you to acknowledge the enlightened intellect 09:41 controlled by a heart that can discern and appreciate 09:45 all the blessings of God's heavenly treasure, 09:49 and this faith is inseparable from repentance 09:52 and transformation of character. 09:55 I want you to see a video brought to us by our friends 09:59 at CBN News. 10:06 Patty Hunt is learning her way around this kitchen 10:08 in Alexandria. 10:10 A place that represents a new start 10:12 for the former inmate. 10:14 Being here has helped me to realize that 10:17 I can go back out and make something of my life. 10:20 Helping women like Patty is the goal 10:22 of Together We Bake, an organization 10:25 that empowers women with the tools they need 10:27 for a second chance in life. 10:30 Stephanie Wright, a former social worker 10:32 started the bakery with a friend 10:34 just over three years ago. 10:36 We knew there were a lot of women 10:37 in need in our area. 10:39 So started doing lots of research, 10:40 talking to lots of people about what our community was missing 10:43 and we realized that women really needed 10:45 job training and support. 10:47 They just needed to know that someone cared. 10:49 The program provides hands-on training 10:51 and personal development to give women experience 10:54 toward future employment in the food service 10:56 and hospitality industry. 10:59 They spend a lot of time 11:00 and in the first part of the program in the kitchen 11:02 so they learn all about food production 11:04 and food safety. 11:05 They get their service certificate. 11:07 Apple chips, granola and chocolate chip cookies 11:09 are just a few of the sweet treats made here. 11:12 Everything has a process. 11:14 I learned about the measurements 11:16 of the cooking, what goes into the cookies 11:18 and the packaging. 11:20 I didn't realize that when you weigh things 11:22 in these proportions 11:24 just to make their product look perfect. 11:26 While baking is the key way that the women here 11:28 at Together We Bake are empowered. 11:30 The ladies also learn recipes for success 11:33 for outside the kitchen. 11:39 So good. 11:41 Coaching classes help the women take on challenges 11:43 such as finding work, building confidence, 11:46 and dealing with family members. 11:47 They learn about communication, conflict resolution, 11:50 goal setting, all these things that really are necessary 11:54 to be successful in life. 11:56 And through all that, 11:57 they really develop the confidence 11:59 they need to believe in themselves, 12:01 to complete something. 12:03 A lot of the women will say, "I've never followed through 12:06 and completed anything, I start a lot of things." 12:07 So when they graduate, they feel so proud 12:10 and they really believe, "I can do anything 12:12 I put my mind to." 12:13 Kim Christian spent the last 20 years 12:15 in and out of prison for drugs and shoplifting. 12:18 I have to stop this vicious cycle 12:20 that I've been in, 12:22 and this program is helping me to get myself together, like, 12:27 you know, to be in society, to live normal. 12:31 Local markets including whole foods 12:34 carry the fresh baked goods 12:35 which helps to foster pride and accomplishment. 12:38 I never thought in a million years 12:40 that I would be putting cookies on the shelf 12:41 in the store to be sold. 12:43 It makes me feel so good 12:46 to see all those shiny bags on the show, 12:48 the granola we package, the apple chip we package. 12:52 And I've never seen what we had in the store 12:54 so I went there. 12:55 The red bag stands out, our label stand out. 12:59 More than 80 women have graduated from the program 13:03 which boasts of recidivism rate of just 8%. 13:06 About 60% of the women are employed which is great. 13:10 One of our recent grads, from just about a year ago, 13:12 she started her own baking business. 13:14 In the end, women are empowered with knowledge and skills 13:18 along with the hope of a better future. 13:21 It's almost like I'm giving back something, 13:25 giving back to the community 13:27 from all the wrong that I have done. 13:28 This is our second, third, and fourth chance for me 13:33 and I thank God for it. 13:34 Charlene Aaron, CBN News, Alexandria, Virginia. 13:47 Joining us again are my guests Pastor Rick Mercer, 13:49 Adly Campos, and Pastor George Fleurimond. 13:53 Faith is a mystery really. 13:57 It's very hard to describe it. 13:59 I try, and I have a little description of faith 14:03 that I give. 14:05 I believe that faith is when you grasp with your heart 14:09 what your intellect cannot comprehend 14:14 nor defend. 14:17 You know, if somebody asked you 14:18 to defend that God exists, it's almost impossible. 14:23 It takes faith to believe, as the Bible says that 14:27 He is and that He is a reward of those who seek Him. 14:30 But I have found that in your quest 14:34 to embrace character and to become like Christ, 14:38 and be Christ like in character, 14:41 faith is essential. 14:43 Sister Adly, do you believe that 14:46 faith is fundamental to building character? 14:52 Indeed it is. 14:53 We need a faith to accept Christ as our Savior. 14:58 And we need faith in Christ to be able to grow in Him 15:03 and reflect His character. 15:05 Become like Him, which is the work of the whole life. 15:10 But it is by faith that we can become 15:14 what He wants us to become. 15:16 Pastor Rick, can we really have the kind of perfection 15:22 of character that only comes through Christ, 15:25 we know that, but can we have that without faith? 15:30 No, it is impossible. 15:33 To have the righteousness of Christ without faith, 15:37 it only comes through faith. 15:41 And there can be no repentance really without faith. 15:46 Pastor Fleurimond, 15:48 what are your thoughts about that? 15:50 Well, scripture says that without faith 15:53 it is impossible to please Him. 15:56 And we look at faith and dealing with character, 16:01 we go to Hebrews and we see, 16:03 in the Hall of Faith individuals 16:06 who may have had personality issues 16:09 but had Christ like character, right? 16:12 Moses and Abraham, 16:13 and these are people who obeyed God, 16:15 and as a result of putting on Christ like, 16:19 or God like character, 16:20 they are memorialized as having strong faith. 16:23 Yes. 16:25 Now, there are two really types of character 16:28 if I can say, you know, the Bible talks about, 16:31 we must wash our robes 16:33 and it talks about the robe of Christ. 16:37 So the point is that faith is necessary 16:41 to put on the robe of Christ. 16:44 We cannot have His robe 16:47 of His righteous character without faith. 16:50 And the point we're trying to get across to people today 16:54 is that without faith, 16:56 you cannot grow your own character. 17:01 In other words, if you want to be kind, 17:05 if you want to be loving, it first requires faith, 17:10 you know, the belief that doing what God says do 17:15 will please Him. 17:18 And so we cannot have character, 17:21 real good Christian character without faith. 17:25 Do any of you have an experience or story 17:29 that shows how faith 17:33 influenced the kind of behavior 17:37 and the character in your own life? 17:39 Pastor Rick? 17:42 Yes, you know, it's, you know, faith to me is a gift 17:46 that you receive by spending time on Jesus. 17:49 And as I spend time with Jesus, 17:52 the things that I used to like to do, 17:56 I developed a hate for it 17:57 and the things I used to not want to do, 17:59 I wanted to do so by beholding Jesus, 18:02 by spending time with Jesus, I became more like Him. 18:05 Yes. 18:07 You know, the servant of Lord says that 18:08 there can be no perfection of character without faith. 18:15 How amazing is that? There can be... 18:18 And I'm talking about the character from Christ 18:21 and the character that we have to develop. 18:23 There can be no perfecting 18:26 or perfection of character without faith. 18:28 Why do you suppose that is, Sister Adly? 18:30 Why do you suppose that we cannot have His perfection 18:35 and He cannot have this work of perfecting His character 18:40 in us without faith? 18:45 Without faith, we cannot try 18:50 to really please Him and obey Him 18:54 in the way that He would want us to obey. 18:57 We accepted Him by faith. 19:00 We don't see Him, we accept His word 19:03 because we exercise faith, 19:07 and because we exercise that faith, 19:09 then we are able to believe in Him 19:12 and believe that transformation that He can make 19:15 in each one of us as we seek to spend time with Him 19:19 like Pastor Rick said, 19:21 as we seek to have communion with Him 19:23 and then we are transformed. 19:25 We are changed like, into the likeness of Christ 19:30 is the only way, is the only manner 19:33 that we can really be transformed, 19:35 having that faith that the Holy Spirit will join us. 19:39 That work of transformation will do away 19:42 with all the things that we have inherited 19:45 from our relatives, our background, 19:48 our parents, our grandparents, and at the same time 19:51 the things that we have acquired 19:54 during the times as we were growing up, 19:57 and the environment that surrounded us. 19:59 It is the Holy Spirit, the only one that when we ask 20:04 and we pray demanding that the Holy Spirit transform us 20:08 that we are changed into what Christ wants us 20:11 to change us, transform us into His likeness. 20:14 Absolutely, Pastor Fleurimond? 20:17 I wanted to say in addition to that thing, 20:20 going back to the basic biblical definition of faith. 20:25 The first part of it says 20:26 faith is a substance of things hoped for. 20:29 And I think that willing to be more like Christ, 20:33 you know, you can't experience that transformation 20:36 unless you want to become more like Christ. 20:38 And so that, you know, 20:39 activates the first half of that, you know, 20:42 the substance of things hoped for 20:45 and evidence of things not seen. 20:46 Absolutely. 20:47 I'm gonna read you something 20:49 and then I want you to react to it. 20:50 "By dwelling upon the love of God and our Savior, 20:56 by contemplating the perfection of the divine character 21:01 and claiming the righteousness of Christ as ours by faith, 21:08 we are to be transformed into the same image" 21:14 into his image. 21:17 What do you think of 21:18 when you hear those words, Pastor Rick? 21:22 I think of John 12:32. 21:25 In John 12:32, Jesus said, 21:28 "If I be lifted up, I would draw all men unto Me." 21:32 You know, His love, the love demonstrated 21:35 from the cross of Calvary would draw us away 21:38 from the grip that the world had on us, 21:41 like for instance, the world had a grip on me 21:45 and as I beheld the love of God, 21:48 that was manifested on the cross of Calvary 21:51 as I meditated on, as I thought about it, 21:54 something happened deep inside of me 21:56 that changed me forever. 21:59 The grip that sin had on my life 22:02 lost its hold as the love of God drew me. 22:06 The Bible says, "It's the love of God 22:08 that compels us. 22:11 It's the goodness of God that leads to repentance." 22:14 It says, "As we see God's love for us, 22:17 demonstrated on the cross, it pulls us away 22:21 from the grip that sin has on our life. 22:24 Yes. 22:25 Can you think, either of you, think of an experience 22:28 that you had where you had to exercise faith 22:32 like you've never exercised it before, and how it changed you? 22:38 You know, faith, again, is when you, I believe, 22:42 you believe in what you cannot prove 22:45 is going to happen and when you see it happen, 22:48 it changes you forever. 22:49 Can you think of an experience you had 22:51 where you exercised faith and it changed your life 22:56 and changed you? 23:01 Go ahead Pastor Rick, and then 23:02 we'll go to Pastor Fleurimond, really quickly. 23:04 Yes, God, I was 40 years old and God, 23:10 I felt the call of God calling me into the ministry. 23:14 I had never planned on being a pastor, 23:15 never once thought about it. 23:18 But I knew that God was calling me 23:21 into the ministry, and my wife and I 23:24 talked about it and we made a decision 23:26 that we would give the rest of our life to God, 23:28 whatever He want us to do, wherever He want us go, 23:31 we would do. 23:32 And so we were telling my family about this 23:36 and my mom says, "Well, if God want you in the ministry, 23:39 He'd provide somebody to buy your farm." 23:42 My farm was a pretty large farm, 23:44 I want something that somebody could just write 23:46 a check for in one day, and so we made a decision that day 23:51 that we would give the rest of our life to God, 23:54 sell our farm, if God want us to go into business, 23:57 into the ministry. 23:58 That night, we got a telephone call, 24:00 somebody wanted to buy our farm, 24:02 we had not every cast it. 24:04 And so, you know, I had lived my whole life, 24:08 my whole life had been, my security had been 24:11 my income making ability 24:13 with my CPA practice in my farm. 24:15 But once my farm's sold, 24:17 I had to rely completely on God for everything. 24:21 He was my security. 24:22 And so everybody thought that, that we were crazy 24:25 because no one calls somebody 40 years old into the ministry. 24:29 But three months later, I got a telephone call 24:32 from the Arkansas Louisiana conference president, 24:34 and he asked me if I would like to take over two churches. 24:36 Oh, ain't that a blessing. 24:37 And reigning that year was this song 24:40 "Great is thy faithfulness." 24:42 And God has work one miracle right after another 24:45 in our life since then. 24:47 And it changed you. 24:49 Yes, 'cause I believe in God. 24:51 I know that He is the great provider. 24:54 Pastor Fleurimond, 10 seconds, 24:55 you were about to say something. 24:58 Nothing as specific as that but basically, 25:00 I think that whenever God answers prayers, 25:04 He does it in so many different facets in my life. 25:06 Sometimes He delays the answer so that my character 25:09 can experience, can go into patience. 25:12 And so I become more patient as a result 25:15 of God's answers to my prayers have not come at the times 25:19 that I wanted them to come. 25:21 Absolutely, faith and when we exercise faith, 25:25 it draws us closer to the Lord. 25:29 It draws us closer to Christ. 25:32 When you exercise faith and you see prayers answered, 25:36 you see miracles come to your life. 25:38 All it does is just draw you in complete confidence 25:43 closer to the Lord and it changes your life. 25:46 Thank you so much for being with us. 25:47 Amen. 25:53 It is the righteousness of Christ, 25:55 His own unblemished character that through faith 26:01 is imparted to all who receive Him 26:03 as their personal savior. 26:06 It is the privilege of every soul 26:10 to reach the highest standard, 26:12 stop at no low standard in your experience. 26:16 Beware of admitting any worldly motive, 26:18 whether in the settlement of the great question 26:22 between God and your soul. 26:25 The Lord requires all there is of you 26:31 through constant improvement of every talent 26:35 that you may make a success 26:37 in the formation of Christian character. 26:42 By faith, let the Holy Spirit instruct you 26:47 that you may not only receive but impart heavenly grace. 26:54 And remember, it's not by looking away from Him 26:57 that we imitate the life of Jesus, 27:00 but by talking of Him, 27:02 by dwelling upon His perfections, 27:07 by seeking to refine the taste, 27:10 and elevate the character 27:13 by trying through faith and love, 27:16 and by earnest persevering effort to approach, 27:21 and to become closer like the perfect pattern. 27:26 By having a knowledge of Christ, 27:28 His words, His habits, and His lessons of instruction, 27:32 we claim the virtues of His character. 27:38 I'm Wintley Phipps, thank you for joining us 27:42 for Perfecting Me Becoming More Like Jesus. 27:45 And remember, 27:47 when you give your life to Christ, 27:49 you become more like Jesus. |
Revised 2018-02-22