Participants: C. A. Murray
Series Code: POF
Program Code: POF000025A
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00:25 Hello and welcome to, Pillars of Faith.
00:28 Pillars of Faith. 00:29 This is a program that we rejoice to bring to you 00:32 from Three Angels Broadcasting Network, 00:34 coming to you from the Thompsonville 00:37 Seventh-day Adventist Church and the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:41 We are pleased to bring you this series 00:43 with one of our speakers, Pastor C.A. Murray, 00:47 whom you well know is the General Manager for our 00:51 Proclaim television channel on 3ABN; 00:54 family of networks and family of channels. 00:57 Pastor C.A. Murray is presenting the series, 01:00 Walk This Way. 01:03 And I'm sure you have been blessed to hear 01:06 each and every sermon thus far. 01:08 We have heard number one, Stay This way, 01:12 The Wise Way, Pray This Way, 01:15 and Be This Way. 01:17 During this hour you will hear the message, 01:20 Better Than A Known Way. 01:22 Pastor C.A. Murray is a person that I appreciate 01:25 and know that he is a person that prepares, 01:29 studies and prays, and asks the Lord to use him, 01:33 because he is a servant of the Lord. 01:36 And as a matter of fact, he has been serving the Lord 01:39 for many years as a leader in the 01:42 Seventh-day Adventist Church in different positions, 01:45 and finally coming here to 01:47 Three Angels Broadcasting Network 01:48 to reach more people for Jesus Christ 01:51 through the medium of television. 01:53 And before we begin, we'd like to go to the Lord in prayer. 01:57 I ask you to join me wherever you may be. 01:59 And we want to ask for the Lord's blessing 02:02 because we want to hear a message from the Lord. 02:05 And at this moment let us join in prayer together. 02:10 Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You so much 02:14 for this opportunity, Lord, to hear a message from heaven. 02:18 And we thank You for the servant that You have chosen 02:21 to bring this message to us. 02:23 We pray that You will use him in a mighty way. 02:26 Bless him with the Holy Spirit. 02:28 Give him the words from Thy throne of grace 02:32 that will reach the hearts of Your children 02:35 all over the world. 02:36 And we pray that as we are together, it will be 02:39 that we know that we have been in the presence of the Lord. 02:43 We thank You, Lord for hearing our prayer, 02:45 for we ask it in the mighty and wonderful name 02:48 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 02:51 Amen, amen. 02:53 Well at this moment, it is my pleasure to ask 02:55 Pastor C.A. Murray to come forward 02:57 and present the message for this hour. 02:59 May God bless each and every one of you. 03:02 Thank you Pastor Dinzey. 03:04 And I appreciate those kind words. 03:10 We want to take a look at the message, 03:14 Safer Than A Known Way. 03:19 I also have it written down here as, 03:20 Better Than A Known Way. 03:22 But in looking at the poem, it is, Safer Than A Known Way. 03:26 I want to just go back and recap just a little bit 03:29 before we move forward. 03:31 And with your kind permission, we will pray just once again. 03:37 Gracious Father, speak now to Your servant 03:41 so that the people may hear Your words. 03:45 And we Thank You, Father. In Jesus name, Amen. 03:50 Our first message was, Stay This Way. 03:52 We took a look at Paul's letter to the Hebrews, 03:57 actually Hebrew Christians, 04:00 who were considering returning back to the Hebrew faith. 04:07 And that is why Paul begins his letter with a 04:11 very strong apologetic. 04:14 He says, "God, who at various times and in various ways, 04:16 spoke to our fathers by the prophets in times past 04:23 now in these latter days speaks to us through Jesus Christ." 04:28 And that sets the stage for a lengthy letter 04:33 of pedigree and apologetic where Paul is trying to tell 04:39 the Hebrew Christians, to inform them, to encourage them, 04:43 to stay in the way that you are going. 04:46 You don't want to return back. 04:48 You don't want to go back to the old way. 04:52 You want to continue to walk in this new way. 04:57 And that is why we called it, Stay This Way. 05:01 Because Paul was telling them, "The way that you have found, 05:04 the way of the Lord, the way as outlined by Jesus Christ, 05:08 is the correct way. 05:10 You don't want to go back to the old way. 05:12 Stay this way." 05:15 Then our second message was, The Wise Way. 05:20 That was John's gospel as outlined in, 05:25 The Gospel of Saint John. 05:28 John was doing to the second generation 05:31 after the death of Christ pretty much what Paul was doing 05:37 to the Hebrew Christians. 05:39 The audience that John was addressing 05:44 did not have the opportunity to know Christ. 05:46 They had not seen or heard Him directly. 05:50 They were around, or came into being, or were born 05:54 after Christ had died. 05:56 And so John's audience was that second generation 06:01 of Christians who were living towards the close of the 06:04 first century whom he was trying to convince again 06:09 that the power of Christ was made manifest. 06:12 And even though you didn't get a chance to talk to Jesus, 06:15 or have Christ lay His hands on you, 06:19 or you didn't get a chance to speak directly to Jesus, 06:22 the word of Christ is as powerful 06:25 as the presence of Christ. 06:26 And that's why he begins his gospel the way he does. 06:30 He's having them to know that even though you didn't have 06:34 the privilege, as did some, of walking with Him 06:36 those three and a half years, the word of Christ 06:40 through the power of the Holy Spirit is as effectual, 06:42 is as powerful, as being there with Christ. 06:45 And that's why we see in John, as we mentioned, 06:47 the touchless Jesus. 06:49 We see a series of miracles in the book of John, 06:52 that are only there in John, where Christ heals 06:55 without touching. 06:57 Matthew, Mark, Luke; the vast majority of those miracles 07:00 are miracles where Christ is in the presence 07:03 of the person who is being healed 07:05 where He lays His hands on the person who is being healed. 07:08 He makes some sort of physical contact 07:10 with the person who is being healed. 07:11 Not so in the book of John. 07:13 The persons being healed in the book of John 07:16 are done so at the word of Jesus. 07:19 They're done so divorced from the presence of Jesus. 07:23 And as I said, I think John did that specifically 07:26 to let that second generation know that even though 07:28 you didn't get to see Him, you didn't get to touch Him, 07:30 you didn't get to talk with Him, the word is as powerful. 07:33 Those who were with Him have no advantage on you 07:36 because the word is as powerful as the presence. 07:40 And that was John's burden. 07:42 So he and Paul had parallel objectives in their writing. 07:47 And that was to stabilize the new church 07:50 and to get people to understand that God, 07:54 through the presence of the Holy Spirit, 07:56 through the power of His word, is just as present 08:00 and as powerful as when Christ walked this earth. 08:02 And of course, that message is good for us today 08:05 some 2000 years removed from the presence of Jesus Christ. 08:11 We can know also that the power is in the Word, 08:14 the power is in the Spirit. 08:16 And it's just like having Christ here when you've got the 08:19 Spirit of God and you've got the Word of God. 08:23 Then we moved on to, Pray This Way. 08:27 We looked at the model prayer. 08:31 The disciples asked Jesus, "Teach us to pray," 08:34 and He outlined the model prayer which we call the Lord's prayer. 08:37 And we parsed that prayer. 08:39 We looked at each segment of that prayer 08:41 and what it had to say for us. 08:43 And then we talked about the prerequisites 08:45 of having your prayer heard. 08:46 "He that cometh unto God must believe that He is," 08:49 from the book of Hebrew, "and that He is a rewarder 08:52 of those who diligently seek Him." 08:55 There are prerequisites to prayer. 08:57 Another one of those prerequisites is, 09:01 "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the commandments, 09:08 even his prayer shall be an abomination," 09:10 from Proverbs 28:9. 09:12 So you have to have a willingness to do what 09:15 you know is right before you even ask God 09:20 to bless you or to hear your prayer. 09:22 So we talked about the prerequisites. 09:24 And then we spent a little time telling you that 09:26 after you do all the talking, you need to be silent 09:28 and listen to Jesus. 09:30 Because Jesus has much to say to you also. 09:32 So don't just talk and then leave. 09:35 Talk and then listen. 09:37 And then ask for what you want. 09:41 But listen to what God has to say. 09:43 Do not make your prayers just a shopping list, 09:46 but take the time to praise Him and to thank Him 09:49 for His goodness to you. 09:51 So, Pray This Way. 09:54 Then we talked about, Be This Way. 09:56 And the focus of that particular message was gratitude. 10:00 God's people ought to have gratitude. 10:02 It's part of your Christian discipline. 10:04 Be gracious, have gratitude for those things 10:08 that Christ has done for you, with you, to you, through you. 10:11 And it makes your Christian life sweeter. 10:14 And ingratitude actually separates us from God. 10:18 And the reason I believe that some people don't get 10:21 more blessings is because they don't show gratitude 10:23 for the blessings that they have received. 10:26 And if you don't praise the Lord and are not thankful 10:28 for what you've got, why would God be in behest 10:31 to give you more? 10:33 So we need to have gratitude for the blessings 10:39 that God has given us. 10:41 So that's, Stay This Way, The Wise Way, 10:43 Pray This Way, Be This Way. 10:44 And now, Safer Than A Known Way. 10:50 "And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 10:55 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' 11:01 And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness 11:06 and put your hand in the hand of God. 11:11 That shall be to you better than light 11:16 and safer than a known way.' 11:20 So I went forth and, finding the hand of God, 11:23 trod gladly into the night. 11:27 And He led me toward the hills 11:30 and the breaking of day in the lone East. 11:35 So, heart, be still. 11:37 What need our little life, our human life, to know 11:42 if God hath comprehension? 11:45 In all the dizzy strife, of things both high and low, 11:50 God hideth His intention. 11:53 God knows. His will is best. 11:57 The stretch of years which wind ahead 12:01 so dim to our imperfect vision are clear to God. 12:08 Our fears are premature; 12:11 in Him all time hath full provision. 12:16 Then rest until God moves to lift the veil 12:21 from our impatient eyes. 12:24 When, as the sweeter features of Life's stern face we hail 12:32 fair beyond all surmise, God's thought around His creatures 12:39 our mind shall fill." 12:44 A very powerful and spiritual poem. 12:48 It was written some years ago. 12:53 And it has become, and is considered to be, 12:58 one of the most famous poems, and the most spiritual poems, 13:04 every produced in the country of Great Britain. 13:10 It has been called by various names. 13:14 The author, Minnie Haskins, called it, The Gate of the Year. 13:24 And then she called it, God Knows. 13:27 But somehow, The Gate of the Year, stuck. 13:32 Then others have called it, Safer Than A Known Way. 13:39 But on Christmas day in 1939, King George VI of Great Britain 13:48 gave a brief but crucially important radio address. 13:55 This address, and the drama that surrounded it, 14:00 was the subject of a movie that was produced in 2011. 14:06 The movie was called, The King's Speech. 14:10 In it, George VI quoted this poem by Minnie Louise Haskins. 14:20 It was called, The Gate of the Year, at that time. 14:24 It was written in 1908 and secretly published in 1912. 14:32 This poem, as I said before, was considered one of the most 14:37 spiritual poems ever produced in Great Britain. 14:44 The poem was widely acclaimed as inspirational, 14:48 reaching its first mass audience in the early days 14:51 of the second world war. 14:54 And I said before, on Christmas day 1939, 14:58 King George VI, who was not a public speaker by any stretch, 15:04 and a stutterer, read this poem over the radio 15:09 to the British empire. 15:13 The poem was brought to the king's attention by his wife, 15:16 Queen Elizabeth, the queen consort. 15:19 The poem was widely acclaimed, as I said, as inspirational, 15:23 reaching a mass audience in the early days 15:25 of the second world war. 15:27 Its words remained a source of comfort for the Queen 15:30 for the rest of her life, and she had its words engraved 15:35 on stone plaques and fixed to the gates 15:39 of the King George VI Memorial Chapel 15:42 at Windsor Castle where the King was interred. 15:47 Queen Elizabeth, that is the Queen Mother, 15:49 was also buried here in 2002, 15:54 and the words of, The Gate of the Year, were included 15:58 in a reflection in her funeral order of service. 16:04 The poem has been included in many movies, 16:07 and remains one of the most inspirational words 16:12 ever written in the country of Great Britain. 16:19 It is indeed a powerful, powerful, powerful message. 16:26 And the strength of this poem can be seen 16:29 at the very beginning. 16:32 "And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 16:34 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' 16:38 And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness 16:42 and put your hand into the hand of God. 16:44 For that shall be to you better than light 16:49 and safer than a known way.'" 16:55 So the traveler asked for a light 16:57 because he didn't want to stumble in the darkness. 17:02 He wanted to know where he was going 17:04 and what he was going to face in the coming year. 17:09 The traveler was instructed to take hold of the hand of God, 17:15 to trust Him. 17:17 For the hand of God will be better than a light 17:21 and safer than a known way. 17:26 And on that December 25th of 1939, when the Nazi's 17:33 were about to attack Great Britain 17:37 and the foot of Nazi Germany was about to be put on the 17:40 neck of the British Isles, and Britain would be plunged 17:45 into a war of unimagined horror, the king, who by no means 17:52 was a great speaker, unsure of himself, 17:56 and as I said, a stutterer, not the strongest and most 18:00 authoritative of voices, summoned the words 18:04 of wisdom and truth. 18:07 "Take hold," he said to his people, "of the hand of God. 18:12 And it shall be better than a light 18:16 and safer than a known way." 18:20 England, over the next several years, was bloodied, 18:23 bruised, but never bowed. 18:26 And many credited their resiliency to the words 18:31 of the king that night in 1939. 18:37 When your hand is locked in God's hand, 18:42 it is better than light and safer than a known way. 18:49 In the late 1800's, a black Seventh-day Adventist Preacher 18:56 was returning home late one night from a Bible study 19:01 in the deep south. 19:04 It was dark and he was alone. 19:08 Not a real smart move back in the 1800's. 19:14 Particularly in the old south. 19:17 First, he was black. 19:20 Secondly, he was preaching and teaching a new and strange 19:24 doctrine about worship on the seventh day. 19:29 Sure enough, a racist group followed him 19:33 for many blocks. 19:35 But eventually that group dispersed; 19:38 never touching, harming, or even speaking 19:43 to the preacher. 19:46 Sometime during the following days, one of those young men 19:55 approached the pastor and informed him 19:59 of their intentions. 20:03 He told him that, "We had intended to do you serious 20:07 bodily harm, or maybe even kill you." 20:12 He told the pastor that, "We had pledged to hurt you that night. 20:15 We had pledged to do whatever was necessary 20:18 to stop you from preaching this new doctrine. 20:25 But we couldn't get near you because of the group of 20:29 tall strong white men that had surrounded you. 20:36 Who were those men," he asked. 20:40 "We have never seen such big strong men. 20:45 And they were all around you. 20:47 And we followed you for several blocks. 20:51 We kept after you, but we could not get close 20:56 because of this cordon of men that were around you." 21:01 The astonished preacher said, "There was no one with me 21:07 that night or any night. 21:11 I always walk home alone." 21:16 It was at that moment that both the pastor 21:21 and his pursuer realized the power of that text 21:28 in Psalm 34:7. 21:30 "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about him 21:34 that fears him, and delivers him." 21:39 For the hand of the Lord is better than light 21:44 and safer than a known way. 21:48 This poem is trying to say, among other things, that 21:52 God takes care of His own. 21:55 God protects those who love Him. 21:59 And the hand of the Lord is better than a flashlight 22:02 or a candle in the darkness and safer than a known way. 22:07 In Acts 2:28 the Bible says, "You have taught me 22:12 the way to life; and being with You fills with joy my heart." 22:22 And that comes from the Clear Word. 22:26 A pastor, teacher, and friend of mine, Elder C.E. Moseley, 22:30 tells a similar story. 22:32 Elder Moseley says one night he was giving a Bible study. 22:36 And the person was somewhat hesitant about accepting 22:40 the new faith. 22:42 He was just a little reticent to give up Sunday keeping 22:48 for Sabbath keeping, and some of the other truths. 22:50 And so Elder Moseley labored with that man. 22:52 He was a young student at the time. 22:55 Labored with him and labored with his family 22:56 till late in the evening. 22:59 And it just so happened that he was there so late 23:04 that he missed his trolley to go back to his dorm 23:08 back at school. 23:10 It was cold. It was in Michigan. 23:14 And when he got to the trolley stop, he saw the trolley 23:18 just heading around the corner. 23:20 And so he ran as fast as he can to catch up, 23:22 wouldn't make it, and as he got to that corner, 23:25 he saw it heading around the other corner. 23:26 And he realized that in the cold of a January winter 23:30 in Michigan, he would have to walk all the way 23:34 back home to his dorm. 23:37 The prospect did not thrill him. 23:39 It was very cold, it was snowing. 23:41 And he was not really prepared for the cold. 23:46 And C.E. Moseley tells us that there pulled up next to him 23:51 a large black limousine. 23:54 The window rolled down. 23:56 He said, "I could not see clearly who was in there." 24:00 But the man said, "Hey young man, would you like 24:04 a ride back to school?" 24:07 And he said, "Oh yes I would." 24:10 He got in the back of the car, and it was one of those cars, 24:12 those limousines, that has a partition 24:14 between the passenger's part of the car 24:20 and the front of the car. 24:21 So he could not see through to see who the men were, 24:25 but he heard them talking. 24:27 And he could not make out the exact words, 24:29 but he heard them discussing. 24:32 And Elder Moseley says they took him right to the front steps 24:37 of his dorm. 24:39 And C.E. Moseley was so anxious to get into the dorm 24:45 before curfew that he got out of the car 24:49 and dashed up the stairs. 24:52 When he got to the top of the stairs he realized 24:54 he had forgotten to say, "Thank you." 24:57 When he turned around, C.E. Mosley tells us 25:01 the car was gone. 25:03 Not only was the car gone, but there were no tracks 25:07 in the snow. 25:09 Nor did he hear an engine as the car left. 25:13 And Elder Moseley told us in class that day 25:16 that he believed that he had just been visited 25:19 and assisted by an angel. 25:22 Or actually a couple of angels. 25:26 He said there's no way that car could have gotten 25:29 that far from him just going up one, two, three, four, five 25:32 stairs and turning around. 25:34 He should have heard the car, or seen the car, 25:36 or there should have been tracks in the freshly fallen snow. 25:40 There were none of these. 25:42 And so he had to admit to himself that, 25:45 "I have just been assisted by an angel." 25:48 I say to you again, when you put your hand in the hand of God, 25:53 it's better than a light and safer than a known way. 26:01 The Bible says in Jeremiah 32:37, 26:06 "The Lord says, 'I will cause Jerusalem to dwell in safety.'" 26:13 That's God's promise to His people. 26:19 Psalms 4:8, "It is the Lord only that maketh me dwell in safety." 26:26 The Clear Word says, and I like this rendition, 26:29 "At night I will sleep in peace because the Lord 26:35 watches over me and keeps me safe." 26:40 You see, what this poem is trying to intone is, 26:43 even though you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, 26:46 you don't know what's going to happen next week, 26:48 if you put your hand in the hand of God, 26:51 your safety is guaranteed, your security is guaranteed. 26:58 Because God takes care of His own. 27:02 "It is the Lord," Psalms says, "and the Lord only, 27:06 that maketh me dwell in safety." 27:10 "And at night I will sleep in peace because the Lord 27:15 watches over me and keeps me safe." 27:20 Better than a light, safer than a known way. 27:25 Let's look at the reverse of this particular mindset. 27:29 Let's go to the book of Saint Peter. 27:31 Or rather the book of Peter. 27:33 2 Peter 2, I want to look at verse 18. 27:41 2 Peter 2, and we will consider 18 through 22. 27:49 2 Peter 2:18-22 27:52 I'm in the book of 2 Peter 2, 27:54 and I'm picking up the reading at verse 18. 28:06 The Bible says, "For when they speak great swelling words 28:10 of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, 28:18 through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped 28:22 from those who live in error. 28:26 While they promise them liberty, they themselves 28:29 are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, 28:33 by him also he is brought into bondage. 28:39 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world 28:45 through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 28:50 they are again entangled in them and overcome, 28:54 the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 28:58 For it would have been better for them not to have known 29:02 the way of righteousness than, having known it, 29:04 to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 29:07 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, 29:13 'A dog returns to his own vomit,' 29:15 and, 'the sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.'" 29:23 Isn't it interesting to note how many Bible authors, 29:29 particularly New Testament authors, 29:33 have touched on this same point? 29:37 In the early days of the church, each have returned and repaired 29:41 to this same theme. 29:42 We looked at it in Hebrews, we saw it again in John, 29:49 we saw a bit of it in James, we see it now again in Peter; 29:55 this idea of staying in the way that God has placed you. 30:02 Not returning back, not turning to the side, 30:06 but staying in the way. 30:09 You see, the Christian way is not a familiar way. 30:13 Was not a familiar way. 30:16 And the old way, the Hebrew way, the Jewish way, 30:19 for many was the known way. 30:22 That was the way that they were accustomed to traveling. 30:30 And for many, the Christian way was a new way, 30:32 an uncertain way, a way fraught with danger. 30:35 A way that they were not sure of, 30:37 nor were they comfortable in. 30:40 And yet, they were called to that way. 30:43 And so Paul says to the Hebrews, "Stay in that way. 30:46 Keep in that way." 30:48 John says, "Keep in that way." 30:49 And now Peter says, if you go back from that way, 30:53 it's like a dog going back to vomit or a sow, 30:56 a pig, going back to the mud. 31:02 This following of the risen Carpenter from Galilee 31:06 is better than anything you've ever done before. 31:10 That's the message that Peter is trying to say here. 31:13 Don't be deceived by the false teachers. 31:16 Stay in the way. 31:21 Say you're driving down a highway. 31:25 You're on an unfamiliar highway. 31:29 How is that better than driving on a road that 31:32 you travel six or seven days a week? 31:35 The answer is one word. 31:38 And that's Jesus. 31:40 Jesus leading the way makes every way a safe way. 31:48 And Peter takes his counsel one giant step further. 31:54 Peter affirms that it would be better not to have ever 31:59 begun the trip than to get on the road and turn back. 32:07 Peter is saying, once you start following Jesus, 32:10 stay with Jesus. 32:15 And to go back, he says, is like a dog 32:19 returning to its vomit, or a sow, having washed 32:23 and becoming clean, just going back to the mud. 32:29 Peter is letting us know and is, I don't want to say scolding us, 32:33 but certainly encouraging us, once you find the way 32:37 of righteousness, walk in that way 32:41 and do not allow yourself to be tempted or seduced 32:46 into going back to the old way. 32:50 Don't let the false teachers, don't let the false preachers, 32:53 seduce you into going back to the old ways. 32:55 Stay with Jesus. 32:57 Which is why, brothers and sisters, we ought to question 32:59 everything you hear in this pulpit or any other pulpit. 33:02 The Bible says those in Berea were more noble than 33:05 those in Thessalonica, because after they had heard 33:08 the word preached, they searched for themselves 33:11 to see if these things are true. 33:14 And I commend you, and any preacher worth his salt 33:16 will say, "Check these things out for yourself." 33:22 Become a student of the Word. 33:23 Don't just go to any church, this church or any church, 33:27 and just accept wholeheartedly, willy-nilly, without research, 33:31 without intelligent inquiry into the things you hear. 33:35 Check it out for yourself. 33:37 Become a student of the Bible for yourself. 33:40 Don't just listen and follow. 33:42 Listen and search and follow. 33:44 And if these things be true, and if they be righteous, 33:47 then follow the Word of the Lord. 33:52 Peter also says, "When you go back, 33:56 you'll be worse off in the end than you were in the beginning." 34:04 It's a powerful sentiment. 34:06 When you step back from following the Lord, 34:10 you usually end up worse than you were when you began. 34:15 The Bible talks about the devil getting kicked out 34:19 and the house being swept and cleaned, 34:21 and varnished and polished. 34:24 And then the devil comes in and he sees this empty house, 34:27 and he breaks in and takes seven other devils with him. 34:30 And the last state of the man is worse than it was 34:34 when he began. 34:36 I've found, and most Bible students have found also, 34:39 most of those who are following the Lord have found 34:42 that when a person gives up on God, lets go of God, 34:46 separates himself from God, the pendulum swings far to the left 34:52 and they become far worse than they ever were 34:54 when they began. 34:56 Isn't it interesting that Peter follows up this counsel 35:01 with some great encouragement? 35:03 I'm in 2 Peter 3. 35:08 And I want to go to verse 9. 35:15 2 Peter 3:9 35:20 In fact, I think I'll go back to verse 8. 35:24 "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, 35:28 that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, 35:32 and a thousand years as one day." 35:34 So God is saying through Peter right there, 35:37 "Don't let the lapse of time throw you. 35:41 Because it's all relative with the Lord." 35:46 And the reason he says that is because of the promise 35:48 that's coming right now. 35:49 2 Peter 3:9 35:52 "For the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 35:56 as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, 36:02 not willing that any should perish but that all 36:06 should come to repentance." 36:08 Now you notice that Peter puts this particular 36:13 word of encouragement just after he begins to talk about 36:19 heading back to the old days and the old ways. 36:22 What he's trying to say here is that those of you 36:25 who have begun a good walk with Jesus, 36:27 you've begun to walk in the way, even though it may seem 36:33 that the promises of God are delayed, stay with Him. 36:39 "For the Lord is not slack," or the Greek says slow, 36:45 or dilettante, "concerning His promises." 36:48 In fact, God is diligent. 36:53 And that's why it is better than a light 36:58 and safer than a known way. 37:01 Trust God even when you cannot trace God. 37:08 Even though you may not know the way, Jesus does. 37:14 And He's walked that way before. 37:16 You know, I'm so glad that there is nothing about us, 37:21 nothing we have gone through, nothing we are going through, 37:27 nothing we will go through, that is ever a shock 37:33 or surprise to Jesus. 37:36 I love that. 37:37 He's never shocked, He's never chagrin, 37:41 He's never surprised. 37:42 You know, sometimes in our lives we do things 37:47 that surprise us. 37:49 You ever have that? 37:50 You know, you get into a hot situation and you do something, 37:54 or worse, say something, something comes out of 37:58 your mouth, and you want to say to yourself, "Was that me? 38:03 Did that come from me? 38:05 I can't believe I said that." 38:08 Well it was in there and it came out. 38:11 So when we make mistakes, 38:17 what is interesting is that Jesus is not surprised 38:23 because He knows you better than you know yourself. 38:28 The devil is not surprised, 38:31 because he's the one spurring you on to do that. 38:36 The only person that is surprised is us. 38:41 God's not shocked, the devil is not shocked, 38:44 and we are surprised. 38:45 "Did that come out of me?" Yeah, it did. 38:48 Which is why you cannot hope to defeat the enemy 38:52 without the power of Jesus. 38:56 Because the devil is stronger than you, smarter than you, 39:00 wiser than you, been around a lot longer than you. 39:04 So you're going to need somebody who is stronger than him, 39:06 wise than him, and been around a lot longer than him. 39:09 And that is Jesus Christ, the Lord. 39:13 So even though the promises seem to be slow in coming, 39:18 God is not slack concerning His promises, 39:25 as some count slackness. 39:28 But He's long suffering... 39:29 That means He'll put up with a lot of stuff. 39:31 ...towards us because He's not willing that any should perish. 39:38 And we can praise God for that. 39:40 But I've got to touch on something before 39:41 my time gets away from me. 39:44 Let's go to Proverbs 16:25. 39:47 And if you want, you can also go to Proverbs 14:12. 39:52 Because interesting enough, they say the exact same thing. 39:56 I'm in Psalms... Proverbs 16:25. 40:05 Or you can go to 14:12, because they say the exact same thing. 40:11 Now isn't it interesting my Bible opens up to 14:12. 40:16 But I quoted 16:25. They say the exact same thing. 40:22 Maybe God is trying to tell us something 40:24 when He puts it so close together 40:26 in the exact same words. 40:27 Proverbs 14:12, I'm reading from. 40:30 "There is a way that seems right to a man, 40:34 but the end is the way of death." 40:38 Now unless you doubt me, I'll go over to Proverbs 16:25. 40:44 For the Bible says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, 40:49 but the end is the way of death." 40:52 They say the exact same thing. 40:55 Twice Solomon writes that from your vantage point 41:00 it all seems good, it all makes sense, 41:03 it all seems right. 41:05 But it leads you away from God. 41:10 And Jesus says in John that any road and every road 41:18 that takes you away from Him leads to and ends in death. 41:24 So death, then, is separation from God. 41:27 So there is a way that we can walk that to our minds 41:31 seems right, it seems correct. 41:32 It seem intuitively correct. 41:36 But the Bible says it will take you away from God. 41:39 And when you go away from God, the ultimate result is death. 41:44 Here's a reading from, Patriarchs and Prophets, 41:46 page 634. 41:47 Great reading from a great book by a great author. 41:51 "In deciding upon any course..." 41:54 That is, what way you should go. 41:56 "...any course of action, we are not to ask whether we can 42:01 see that harm will result from it..." 42:04 In other words, if you're deciding on what to do, 42:08 your first question ought not be, 42:11 "Is this going to help me or is this going to hurt me? 42:15 Will I profit from this, will I be better from this, 42:19 or even worse?" 42:20 So then, what is the deciding power or the deciding thing 42:24 that makes any question about which way to go relevant? 42:29 Here's the answer. 42:30 "In deciding upon any course of action, 42:33 we are not to ask whether we can see that harm 42:36 will result from it, but whether it is in keeping 42:42 with the will of God." 42:45 That ought to be the motivation for everything we do. 42:47 "Whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God." 42:51 So if you've got any question about anything, 42:56 your first question ought to be, 42:58 "Is it in harmony with the will of God?" 43:00 "Well, Lord, she's gorgeous, and I love her. 43:04 And she's funny and she makes me feel good. 43:08 But she's not a Christian. 43:10 And she doesn't want to go to church. 43:13 Lord, should I marry her?" 43:21 "In deciding upon any course of action, 43:25 we are not to ask whether we can see harm 43:29 that will result, but whether it is in keeping 43:32 with the will of God." 43:34 Is it in the will of God for a consecrated young man 43:38 to marry a person who has rejected God? 43:42 Or a consecrated young woman to marry a man 43:47 who has rejected God? 43:49 That's the question that you need to ask. 43:52 Not, "Is he handsome?" Not, "Is he cute?" 43:53 Not, "Is he rich?" Not, "Is he funny?" 43:56 Does he love the Lord? 43:58 And when you put God first, a lot of these questions 44:00 which seem so tough become rather easy. 44:05 "Lord, I want to buy a new computer. 44:10 But I'm going to have to dip into my tithe money to do it. 44:17 And Lord, I want You to bless me. 44:21 Should I do it or not? 44:24 "In deciding upon any course of action, we are not to ask 44:29 whether we can see that harm will result from it, but whether 44:34 it is in keeping with the will of God." 44:37 Is it God's will for you to spend your tithe on yourself? 44:43 You see how easy questions become, the answer becomes, 44:45 when you line yourself up with the Word of God? 44:49 You want to know which way to go? 44:52 Go God's way. 44:54 Go the way that Christ is showing you. 44:58 You see, you've got to trust God, 45:01 and you've got to trust that God knows better than you may know. 45:06 You've got to trust that God knows the way 45:08 better than you know the way. 45:10 Particularly when the way is hazy for you, 45:13 or especially when you don't know which way to go, 45:17 you've got to trust that God knows, 45:20 and that God shows and will show you the right way. 45:23 Now, let's go to the book of Jeremiah. 45:25 Just take a couple of more things and then we'll be done. 45:27 Jeremiah 36 45:32 Jeremiah... 45:35 Isaiah, Jeremiah... 45:37 ...34, 35, and 36. 45:48 Jeremiah 36, and I think I want verse 13. 45:50 I will just check. Jeremiah 36. 46:03 Jeremiah 36? Yeah, 13. 46:10 "Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had 46:14 heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people. 46:20 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, 46:25 the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, 46:31 'Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read 46:36 in the hearing of the people.' 46:38 So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll 46:41 in his hand and came to them. 46:43 And they said to him, 'Sit down and read it in our hearing.' 46:47 So Baruch read it in their hearing. 46:48 Now it happened, as they had heard all the words, 46:51 that they looked in fear from one to another, 46:54 and said to Baruch, 'We will surely 46:57 tell the king these words.'" 46:59 Now I could read the rest, but I want to get to the story. 47:02 Because Jeremiah here is recording an incident 47:07 where the Lord was beginning to show His people 47:14 that it was time to come back to the Lord. 47:20 And a little bit further we see where the Bible says, 47:24 "Amend your ways," I'm reading. 47:27 "Change your ways. 47:28 Change the way that you are going." 47:31 And if you change your ways, God will relent 47:34 from any punishment to you. 47:36 God is telling His people here, safety is in following the Lord. 47:41 I remember there's an old story about Alexander the Great, 47:48 that great leader who is spoken of in the book of Daniel 47:52 and again touched on in the book of Revelation, 47:56 who conquered the world and died in a drunken stupor at age 33. 48:01 And evidently, there was in his army, his vast army, 48:04 a soldier who had distinguished himself 48:08 for being a goof-off, a goldbrick. 48:11 Someone who was, as young people say today, a slacker. 48:14 Someone who just didn't do his job. 48:17 Now that would not necessary have come to Alexander's notice 48:21 except that this soldier, this dilettante, goof-off soldier, 48:27 had the same name as Alexander the Great. 48:30 And so this great general summoned this young soldier 48:35 into his presence. 48:37 And he said to him, "Young man, I have heard 48:43 of your legendary slackness. 48:47 Now you've got two choices. 48:50 You're either going to have to change your ways 48:54 or change your name. 48:57 One or the other, but you can't do both. 49:00 You've got to either shape up," or as my dad use to say, 49:03 "or ship out. 49:05 Change your ways or change your name." 49:09 And as Christians, that's God's call. 49:12 We've got to amend our ways. 49:14 And that's what the Bible is saying here to God's people. 49:17 You've got to change your ways or change your name. 49:21 If you're going to walk in the way, in God's way, 49:26 then you've got to walk like God walks. 49:29 Or walk like Jesus walked. 49:32 If you're going to be a child of God, then you must 49:35 serve as Christ served. 49:38 If you're going to walk in that way. 49:40 And you can do so safe in the understanding 49:45 that when you put your hand in God's hand, 49:47 God will take care of you. 49:48 For putting your hand in God's hand is better 49:51 than a light and safer than a known way. 49:59 How wonderful it is to know that we serve a God 50:03 who takes care of His own. 50:06 Got to tell you a quick story. 50:07 And I think we'll probably close with this. 50:09 This story goes back to 1982. 50:13 I had a chance to visit with a lady, member of my church. 50:22 I can tell her name. 50:23 Her name was Ina Leigh Kitchen. 50:26 She was at that time I think 102, if memory serves me. 50:34 She had lived a long time with the Lord. 50:38 And her voice was still strong, her mind was still strong, 50:42 and she told me a great story about the protection of God. 50:45 She said, "Back in the 1930's," I think she said, 50:51 "my husband and I and our little baby were there in the house. 50:58 He had lost his job. 51:00 I was home taking care of our baby. 51:03 And we didn't have much. 51:06 In fact, we had nothing in the house. 51:08 Nothing. 51:10 And I asked God to bless us. 51:16 I didn't know how. 51:18 I just said, 'Lord, you see we're starving. 51:22 It's Friday, we'd like to go to church tomorrow on Saturday, 51:27 but we don't have any food and I've got this young child 51:32 here in the house.'" 51:34 She said, "For some reason I was impressed to open the window 51:39 in our apartment, and I sat in my rocker 51:43 and I just let the breeze come over me. 51:46 And I sat, Bible open on my lap, and I prayed." 51:53 She said, "After about an hour of just sitting 51:55 and praying, there floated through my window, 52:00 just as nice as you please, a one dollar bill." 52:04 She said it just floated down. 52:06 "And it landed right there on the Bible on my lap." 52:12 And she said, "I was shocked, and I called my husband. 52:16 And I called him and he came running. 52:19 And I said, 'Look what just came in through the window. 52:22 I've been praying, and look what just came in the window. 52:25 A one dollar bill.' 52:28 And he said, 'Well somebody upstairs must have 52:30 lost that money. 52:31 I need to go up on the roof and see if someone's up there 52:36 to drop it.'" 52:37 And she says, Ina Kitchen told me, 52:41 while her husband was going up on the roof, 52:43 she was heading to the store. 52:46 She felt no one had dropped it. 52:48 God had put that dollar there for her. 52:51 Now back in the 1930's, a dollar went a lot 52:53 further than it does now. 52:55 She said, "With that one dollar bill, I got bread, 52:59 and I got milk for the baby, and I got peanut butter, 53:03 and I got a couple of vegetables. 53:06 And we ate well that evening and through Sabbath." 53:11 And as we sat there that day and laughed and talked about 53:16 that story, she said, "Pastor, that was proof for me 53:21 that being a Seventh-day Adventist 53:23 was what God wanted me to do. 53:26 That was proof for me that being a Sabbath keeper 53:29 was the way that God wanted me to go. 53:33 We didn't have any money, we didn't have any employment, 53:38 we didn't have any food, no job, but we had Jesus." 53:44 And I say again, when you've got Jesus, 53:47 when you put your hand in the hand of the Lord, 53:50 it is better than a light and safer than a known way. 54:00 Some years ago, I was called to do a funeral for a young man 54:05 that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 54:11 Walking by a skating rink, it was a drive by shooting, 54:15 and this young 18 year old was shot and killed 54:21 by an assailant that he did not know, 54:24 and he was never caught. 54:26 And the mother asked me to preach his funeral message. 54:31 And I racked my brain and prayed for something to say to that mom 54:37 who had just lost her son so untimely and so tragically. 54:45 And I came up with a message, a eulogy, that I called, 54:48 Bulletproof. 54:51 Basically I said this to her and to those who were assembled: 54:57 When you give your heart to Jesus, 55:00 Jesus makes you bulletproof. 55:04 And what do I mean by bulletproof? 55:06 I mean that when you give your heart to the Lord, 55:11 when you put your life in the hand of the Lord, 55:14 the world cannot hurt you. 55:18 And I sight Hebrews 13:5-6 where the question is asked 55:23 almost rhetorically, "What can man do to me?" 55:27 Because the Lord says, "If you live in Me and die in Me, 55:30 you will one day live forever." 55:32 And so I told that mother, "We know who your son was. 55:37 We know the kind of young man your son was. 55:41 And from all outward appearances he was a young man who had 55:44 given his life to the Lord. 55:46 Well, he had given his life to the Lord, 55:49 Lord has already given His life for him, 55:52 and the Bible says, he that lives in Christ, 55:54 dies in Christ, will one day live forever. 55:56 So your son is bulletproof. 55:58 That bullet didn't hurt him. 56:01 He's just going to rest a little longer 56:03 before he's called to his reward. 56:06 He's going to sleep a little more. 56:07 But the Bible says his name is hid in Christ Jesus." 56:14 I've said this many times, that when I pastored 56:17 the Ephesus church I had a membership of 2142. 56:22 And I preached, in the seven years that I pastored there, 56:25 a total of 117 funerals. 56:30 117 lives; 117 times I had to recite from Corinthians. 56:37 I had to tell them that the dead in Christ will rise first, 56:40 from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. 56:43 I had to tell them that we sleep in the grave, 56:46 and Christ will call us one day. 56:49 But at every one of those funerals, I said something. 56:52 I said, "Death in Christ is not such a bad thing. 56:57 Better to die in Christ than to live without Him." 57:04 And really, those are the sentiments, the words, 57:08 of this wonderful poem by Minnie Louise Haskins. 57:14 When you put your hand in the hand of God, 57:19 it is better than a light and safer than a known way. |
Revised 2016-12-15