Participants:
Series Code: PTL
Program Code: PTL000004A
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00:51 Good evening.
00:52 Good evening, welcome to each and every one of you 00:55 who are watching this broadcast over 00:58 Three Angel's Broadcasting Network. 01:00 We're glad that each and every one of you have joined us 01:03 here in Phoenix, Arizona. 01:04 My name is Jim Hakes. 01:06 I pastor the Paradise Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:09 right here in the sunny valley of Phoenix, Arizona. 01:12 And we invite you to come on in with us 01:14 as Three Angel's Broadcasting has come here to Phoenix 01:18 to share, Pathways to Life. 01:22 And I've been blessed as each presentation has taken place. 01:28 I expect that each of you will be blessed again today 01:33 as this event happens. 01:36 3ABN is here with Pastor Lomacang and friends. 01:41 Tonight Tim Parton will be leading out in our music. 01:45 And then Pastor Lomacang will be speaking to us, 01:49 and I expect we will each one receive a blessing. 01:52 Before Tim opens up with the Word in music, 01:56 I invite you to pray with me. 01:59 And then Tim will be presenting to us the song, 02:02 I've Been Changed. 02:05 And Pastor Lomacang will be talking about, 02:07 The Agent of Change. 02:10 Will you pray with me? 02:12 Dear God, thank You for this wonderful gospel. 02:18 And it is our prayer that You will share music 02:24 through Tim tonight, that You will share 02:29 the message from the Word through Pastor Lomacang. 02:34 It is our prayer that each of us be blessed. 02:38 And we thank You, for we've asked it in the name of Jesus. 02:42 Amen. 02:46 I'm going to testify a little tonight. 02:53 Well I've been to the river and I've been baptized; 02:59 I've been washed in the blood of the Lamb. 03:04 I've been changed from the creature that once I was; 03:10 And redeemed is now my name. 03:17 I've been changed, I am newborn now; 03:22 All my life has been rearranged. 03:27 What a difference it made when the Lord came 03:31 and stayed in my heart. 03:33 Oh yes, I've been changed. 03:38 Though my sins were as scarlet, they're white as snow; 03:44 I was bound, but today I am free. 03:48 I was lost out in the darkness, but now I am found; 03:53 And I was blind, but now I see. 03:58 So I've been changed, I am newborn now; 04:02 All of my life has been rearranged. 04:07 Oh what a difference it made when the Lord came 04:11 and stayed in my heart. 04:13 Oh yes, I've been changed. 04:18 When at last in His presence I stand above, 04:23 He will wipe all the tears from my eyes. 04:28 And I'll thank Him for giving a wretch like me 04:32 a lasting hope beyond the sky. 04:37 I've been changed, I am newborn now; 04:41 All of my life has been rearranged. 04:46 Oh what a difference it made when the Lord came 04:50 and stayed in my heart. 04:52 Oh yes, I've been changed. 04:55 Oh what a difference it made when the Lord came 04:59 and stayed in my heart. 05:02 Oh yes, I've been changed. 05:09 I am changed. 05:12 And I'm going to keep the change, oh, in my heart. 05:19 Oh yes, I've been changed. 05:31 Amen. Go ahead and say amen. 05:36 We ought to be excited about being changed. 05:37 - Can you say amen again? ~ Amen. 05:39 Thank you, Tim, for warming up the piano 05:42 and warming up our hearts. 05:45 Thank you so much for coming out another night. 05:48 - Have you been blessed? ~ Amen. 05:50 We're going to ask for the Lord to continue guiding tonight. 05:52 We're talking about, The Agent of Change. 05:56 - What's the topic tonight? ~ Change. 05:58 The Agent of Change. 06:00 None of us wants to be who we use to be. 06:05 We all want to be new. 06:08 As Tim sang so heartily, we all want to be changed. 06:12 Before we go into the Bible tonight, 06:14 let's open with a word of prayer. 06:18 Loving Father in heaven, we thank You, Lord, 06:20 for the privilege and opportunity 06:23 that you lend to us in opening Your Word. 06:28 We invite Your presence to come and to speak to our hearts 06:32 in such a way that wherever we may be, 06:36 if it is where You do not desire for us to be, 06:38 Lord, come in and change us. 06:41 We ask in Jesus' name, amen. 06:47 Tonight, come with me on a journey 06:50 with the Doctor of doctors, the Psychologist of psychology, 06:57 the Architect of extreme makeovers. 07:01 His name is Jesus. 07:03 And tonight I begin by saying to you, 07:05 they ain't nothing He can't do. 07:07 - Amen, somebody. ~ Amen. 07:10 I know that, not only scripturally, 07:12 but I know that factually. 07:14 As we walk through the Bible tonight, you are going to 07:18 walk with me through the science of transformation. 07:24 The science of becoming a saint and not remaining a sinner. 07:30 We're going to walk through tonight and discover 07:33 what is means to be converted. 07:35 How do we become all that God intends for us to be? 07:40 How do we become delivered from who we use to be. 07:45 The Lord does not want us just to be intellectual Christians, 07:49 He wants us to be spiritual saints born again 07:53 by the blood of the Lamb. 07:56 And tonight we're going to walk in the Bible 07:58 through John chapter 4. 07:59 If you have your Bibles, you can turn there with me. 08:01 If not, it is going to be on the screen. 08:03 One of the most transforming stories in the Bible 08:06 brings us face to face with the familiar places in our lives. 08:13 You know, by default many of us tend to go back 08:17 to that same place, to go back to that same habit, 08:21 go back to that same thought, go back to that same practice. 08:27 Even though intellectually we may have a clear understanding 08:31 of a doctrinal position in the Bible, 08:34 there is something that happens in the human life 08:37 it's almost like a repeated behavior. 08:40 Matter of fact, it is not almost like a repeated behavior, 08:43 it is a repeated behavior. 08:46 It is an action... 08:48 It is a thought that becomes an action, 08:50 an action that becomes a habit, 08:52 a habit that becomes a character, 08:54 a character that becomes a destiny. 08:57 And I know in my own life that until I completely 09:02 surrendered myself to Jesus... 09:05 And by the way, let me make this point very clear. 09:08 Surrendering your life to Jesus may be, in the larger sense, 09:12 giving your heart to Christ through baptism 09:15 and following Him as your Lord and Savior. 09:17 But every morning we wake up we've got surrender our lives 09:22 to Jesus another day. 09:26 And I'll tell you why, as we open the Bible tonight. 09:30 Jesus takes us to one of the unknown cities in the Bible. 09:36 A city named Sychar. 09:38 And this, when you study this story we're going to cover here 09:42 in John chapter 4, you'll discover one the reasons why 09:45 Jesus takes us to a relatively unknown city. 09:48 And I discovered that this is the only place in the entire 09:51 Bible where the city Sychar is named. 09:55 Jesus takes us to an unfamiliar city 09:59 to confront our familiar places. 10:03 And He takes us to a place that walks us through one of the most 10:06 interesting conversations that Jesus has. 10:08 Jesus having a conversation with a woman at the well. 10:15 Now whether you know it or not, a woman in Bible prophecy 10:17 represents the church. 10:19 And tonight we're going to see ourselves in a very clear way 10:22 in the story of Jesus having a conversation 10:26 with the woman at the well. 10:28 And then we're going to discover the science of being 10:31 delivered from our unfamiliar places 10:36 and being transformed to become like Christ. 10:38 Let's dive into the story tonight. 10:40 John 4:3-4, the Bible says, speaking of Jesus 10:44 on His journey, the Bible says... 10:56 You know, when I read that, when I read that, I discovered 10:59 the difference between who we were and who we have become 11:05 is that Jesus needed to go through our neighborhood. 11:10 You'll catch that tomorrow. 11:13 He didn't need to go through, because there was nothing 11:15 in Samaria that He needed, but there was someone 11:18 in Samaria that needed Jesus. 11:20 There was nothing in Samaria He needed, but there was someone 11:23 in Samaria that needed Jesus. 11:26 I am so glad that the journey's that Jesus takes 11:32 are not for things, but for people. 11:35 And there is no one that is unimportant to Jesus. 11:38 So when you read in the Bible, when the Bible says 11:40 Jesus needed to go through Samaria, the point of the 11:44 matter is, if you want your life to be transformed, 11:47 let Jesus go through your life, 11:50 let Him go through your marriage, 11:52 let Him go through your neighborhood, 11:54 let Him go through your relationships. 11:56 When He goes through it, He unwraps it and He puts it 12:00 back together, making it better than it has ever been before. 12:04 I know that; I use to be a disc jockey until Jesus went through. 12:10 And everything that binds us will bind us 12:13 until Jesus decides to go through. 12:17 Look at the next verse, verse 6. 12:20 He meets a woman. And the Bible says... 12:33 In other words, it was high noon. 12:36 And when the Bible adds the narrative about Jacob's well, 12:41 I had to look into the Bible to understand the story. 12:45 You know, there are certain passages in the Bible, 12:47 and I've discovered that everything you find 12:49 in a particular scripture is put there for a reason. 12:53 And I said, why would he mention Jacob's well 12:55 when Jacob died 1694 years before this story unfolded? 13:00 Why would he even mention Jacob's well? 13:02 Because Jesus was about to confront a woman 13:07 who had more faith in her lineage than in Christ. 13:13 He had to confront the identifying marks in her life. 13:17 And let me unpack this a little slowly, 13:20 and then I'll preach like a New Yorker in a few minutes. 13:24 He had to unpack her identity; 13:28 what kept her linked to every practice in her life. 13:33 And the security that she had was, this was a well that was 13:37 connected to her family from generation to generation, 13:41 to generation, to generation. 13:43 So Jesus is meeting her at a familiar place. 13:46 The place that identifies her with her family line 13:50 as far back as 1694 years. 13:54 And when you look at your life, in many cases 13:57 who you are is often identified by what has been passed down 14:02 from generation to generation, to generation, to generation. 14:06 And we often say, "You're just like your grandfather. 14:09 You've got a temper just like him." 14:12 "You look just like your brother, 14:13 but he died before you were born." 14:17 "You know, you sing just like your great grandmother. 14:20 But that was before you were born." 14:23 There are certain things in our lives 14:25 that identifies with our past. 14:27 Some people say, "Your temper, oh, if you only knew 14:29 your grandfather, your temper would be just like his." 14:33 And so Jesus identifies something that's going to be 14:36 very significant to this woman 14:40 when He begins to meet her at the place 14:43 that is connected to her lineage. 14:46 Now before we meet the woman, 14:48 and we'll meet her in just a moment, 14:50 before we meet her, I need to make a very important point. 14:53 Lineage has a lot to do with our identity 14:58 until we meet Jesus. 15:03 Because when we meet Jesus, something happens. 15:07 When we meet Jesus and invite Him in, 15:10 something magnificent takes place. 15:13 Notice what the Bible says. 15:15 Here's how the Bible says it. 2 Corinthians 5:17 15:19 Matter of fact, read it with me. 15:20 Are you ready? Here we go. 15:24 No matter what your background, your race, 15:27 your financial status. 15:40 That word, "passed away," is a phrase meaning, 15:42 old things have died. 15:45 And I know, as I've met people from time to time, 15:49 there are certain things in people's lives 15:51 that if they just let them die... 15:56 ...they would begin to experience the abundant life 15:58 that Jesus came to give to them. 16:00 If they would just let certain things pass away. 16:04 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 16:06 There are some people that identify... 16:08 You see them coming, and know to yourself, 16:10 "Here they go with that same old story again." 16:13 "How you doing?" 16:14 And they tell you their entire life story. 16:16 They begin from the time they were seventeen, 16:18 and they're probably fifty-one. 16:20 And you say, "I heard... I know the story. 16:22 I understand." 16:24 Like the man that was laying at the pool, 16:26 and he said, "I've been here for a long period of time." 16:29 Like the woman had been bleeding for many, many years. 16:32 We so often are identified by our war stories 16:36 and the scars of our past. 16:38 But if we meet Jesus and let the past pass away, 16:43 we will understand what it means to be new in Christ. 16:45 What do you say tonight? 16:47 The point is, to be new means a whole lot more 16:51 than just saying we are Christians. 16:53 Let's allow this to be unpacked. 16:56 One of the points I'm going to bring out is that 16:58 often times we are identified by our doctrinal position. 17:02 But the older I get, I'm discovering that my mental, 17:06 emotional, and spiritual position is more of a reality 17:10 than just my doctrinal position. 17:12 In other words, what I think, how I live, 17:17 and the practices in my life identify me more with the 17:21 reality of who I am than just what I believe doctrinally. 17:26 Because there are some people who have solid doctrines 17:28 but they don't behave, they don't live in harmony 17:31 with their doctrines. 17:33 They don't live in harmony with their belief systems. 17:36 Let me show you how the Bible illustrates this. 17:39 Look at this. 17:40 Proverbs 23:7 17:41 Very short passage, but powerful. 17:48 In other words, we may not be what we think we are, 17:53 but we are what we think. 17:59 Did you get that? 18:01 We may not be what we think we are, 18:03 but we are what we think. 18:05 So now as I laid the foundation for the story, 18:08 Jesus is about to meet a woman who thinks she is 18:14 what she thinks she is, but Jesus knows that she's 18:17 not what she thinks she is. 18:20 Don't ask me to say that again. 18:24 He knows who she is. 18:26 So about noon, high noon, He sends His disciples away 18:32 because they have issues with people of other races 18:36 and they are not past their prejudices yet. 18:38 Read the story. 18:39 That's the main reason He sent them away. 18:42 Because the Jews and the Samaritans just do not converse. 18:47 So He had to send them away. 18:48 He said, "Go get something to eat. 18:50 And when you're done, come back." 18:51 He had to do that to clear the stage so that He could have 18:55 a converting experience with a person who needed to meet Him. 18:59 The Bible continues. 19:01 John 4:7 19:10 I love this passage. 19:15 Sorry for smiling. 19:17 But Jesus is the water of life. 19:20 Come on now, somebody. 19:22 Jesus could think water, and every water jug 19:27 within 100 miles will show up into the presence of Jesus. 19:31 The water of... If she had only known... 19:34 Excuse me, I'm way ahead of you. 19:36 But if she had only known who was asking her for a drink. 19:40 Jesus says, "Give Me a drink. 19:43 I'm thirsty. Give Me something to drink." 19:46 And she looks at Christ, not understanding 19:49 that she's about to have an encounter 19:52 with the Creator of everything seen and unseen. 20:00 Verse 9. 20:18 The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 20:22 She was able to identify Jesus. 20:24 And we were just recently in the Middle East. 20:26 You can tell the difference by the way people dress 20:29 how they are identified. 20:30 When we were in Jordan we could see that 20:32 the Jordanians dress differently from the Jews. 20:35 They have a certain identifying kind of garb they wear. 20:39 And just being there for the days that we were, 20:41 we were able to see the difference. 20:43 But when she said this to Jesus, I like the way that Jesus 20:46 responded back to her. 20:48 Notice what He said. Notice what He said. 21:15 "If you had only known." 21:20 That's something that... 21:27 Jesus is on vacation from hanging galaxies. 21:33 He took a short break between creating other worlds 21:36 to come down and have a conversation 21:39 with a woman at a well. 21:42 In a short span of three and a half years of ministry... 21:45 This Creator of heaven and earth, 21:50 this nuclear plant hidden in the garb of human flesh, 21:58 Jesus, this line of the tribe of Judah dressed in the garb 22:03 of a helpless lamb, 22:07 there's enough power in Jesus to annihilate the woman, 22:12 and He's standing in her presence with His power 22:16 turned way down so that He can turn the power 22:19 way up in her life. 22:22 I'm talking about Jesus. 22:25 I'm not talking about a president, 22:27 I'm not talking about a wealthy man. 22:28 I'm talking about a Man who has no beginning and no end, 22:32 and He's standing in front of the woman, 22:34 and He's saying to her, "If you only knew who I was." 22:39 Jesus became the undercover boss. 22:46 Have you seen that before? 22:48 Doesn't it tickle you? 22:49 The moment I saw that, I said, "That's Jesus." 22:53 He hides Himself in the garb of humanity. 22:59 He comes way down so that one day we can go way up. 23:07 He left the untarnished palaces of illimitable space and time 23:13 to have a conversation with one woman. 23:16 Ladies, you ought to say amen. 23:22 I mean, this story blows me away. 23:23 You know, she did not know in whose presence she stood. 23:26 So I've got to go back to Jeremiah to help you understand 23:29 in whose presence she stood. 23:31 Jeremiah says to the woman, "If you only read Jeremiah, 23:34 you would have known who He is." 23:36 Jeremiah says the Lord declared... 23:44 And the answer is what? No. 23:48 You know it in your own life 23:50 that there's nothing too hard for God. 23:52 I know it in my own life. 23:53 Have you been to the places in your life where you didn't think 23:56 that you can change? 23:58 But now you look back on where you use to be 24:00 only to realize that the reason why you're no longer there is 24:04 you met the Agent of change. 24:08 Tonight I'm not talking about any of the 28 fundamentals. 24:14 I am talking about the most fundamental fundamental of all. 24:17 And that is meeting Jesus. 24:20 Because, you know, until you meet Jesus, 24:22 you can have all your ducks in a row, 24:25 but you can be so unchanged that your doctrinal and intellectual 24:30 beliefs have no ability to transform and change your life. 24:35 And what we need more than anything else 24:37 is not just clear understandings of scriptural teachings, 24:40 we need to know why we always end up where we end up 24:44 and how to break the cycle of going back to where 24:48 we use to be; the familiar places in our lives. 24:53 You see, Jesus met the woman where she always was. 24:55 Jesus met a woman at the place that she showed up 24:58 every day, and He knew the time of day. 25:01 He says, "It's five to noon. She'll be here in five minutes." 25:06 Did you get that? It's noon. 25:08 If He went there at five o'clock He would not have met her. 25:11 Isn't that amazing? 25:13 That before time began Jesus put in His calendar, 25:18 "Woman at the well. 25:21 2700 years from now at noon." 25:26 That's how I think. Help me out. 25:29 "2700 years from now at noon, outside of Sychar, 25:35 got an appointment." 25:36 He wakes up that morning, checks His Rolodex, 25:39 sorry, opens up His iPad, and says, 25:41 "I've got an appointment today with the woman at the well." 25:43 Come on, somebody, say amen. 25:45 I mean, because the Bible says, "I am God and there is 25:51 none like Me; declaring the end from the beginning, 25:56 and from ancient times things that are not yet done." 26:00 So I don't believe that this was an appointment 26:02 that Jesus made that day. 26:04 I believe this was an appointment made... 26:11 ...a long time ago. 26:14 And He shows up, so that by the way He changes her life 26:19 He shows us that He can change our lives. 26:22 He came to give her something that she never had. 26:24 Which means, the Lord doesn't need us, we need Him. 26:27 Every blessing that we can ever experience 26:30 is because we simply throw ourselves on God. 26:34 And you know, when we give our all, 26:36 we get more than our all back in return. 26:39 Didn't He promise that? 26:41 Notice what He says in His Word. 26:42 Notice how He says this in His Word. 26:44 "Give, and it will be..." What? 26:58 In other words, what this scripture is saying, 27:00 we use this often for finances, but the Bible is saying, 27:04 if there's any portion of you that you hold back, 27:08 then you'll never get all that the Lord has for you. 27:11 But if you give everything of yourself, 27:14 He'll give you that back, and then some. 27:17 Good measure, pressed down, 27:19 shaken together, and running over. 27:21 And I'm getting to the place in life, my gray hair is 27:24 teaching me one thing, if I'm going to give my life to God, 27:27 I've got to give all of it. 27:30 For there to be any changes, 27:31 I've got to give every bit of it. 27:36 Now let's go back to the story. 27:38 Because you're excited to go there. 27:39 Look at the very next verse. 27:52 She still doesn't know who He is. 27:58 And then Jesus responds back. 28:01 You know what's amazing to me? 28:03 If it were us, we would have said at the very beginning, 28:06 "I'm God." 28:08 I mean, come on, help me out. 28:11 We couldn't handle that kind of power. 28:14 We would have said, "I'm God. 28:15 You don't need water, you need Me." 28:17 But Jesus is just milking this for all He has. 28:22 And every time I read this story, I want to say to Him, 28:25 "Just tell her who You are, and she'll surrender." 28:31 You know, if He came out and said to her, 28:32 "Woman, do you realize that the very well on which you stand 28:35 belongs to the earth that I made?" 28:39 He doesn't do that. 28:40 He's just drawing her heart out, 28:44 after a longing that's way inside of her. 28:46 He's pulling it out. 28:48 And He said to her, notice what He said in verse 12. 29:08 And then Jesus responds back to her. 29:32 Now as the woman is inventorying her life, 29:35 Jesus is unfolding before her something that will 29:39 take away the thirst in her life. 29:42 And so I want to pause at this particular point in the sermon 29:45 and ask the question, which Jesus is really asking her is, 29:49 how thirsty are you? 29:52 Now think about that for a moment. 29:54 Until you are thirsty for righteousness, 29:58 you'll never have that thirst quenched. 30:01 Didn't the Bible say, "Whoever hungers and thirsts 30:05 after righteousness will be filled." 30:07 Now some of us want to be righteous, 30:09 but are we thirsty for righteousness? 30:12 The difference between wanting to be righteous 30:14 and being thirsty for righteousness means this: 30:17 Until your thirst is quenched, you're not satisfied with 30:21 any other substitutes. 30:26 Simply put, until your life is where you are completely 30:31 free from the things that bind you to your past, 30:36 until you are at the place where everything that 30:38 held you at that familiar place is gone, 30:42 until all those things are gone, you're not yet satisfied. 30:47 And I know what I'm talking about. 30:49 Because the Lord delivers us, but sometimes He has to 30:52 deliver us in phases, because not that He can't deliver us 30:56 all at once, but sometimes we hold onto things in our life 30:59 and we are reluctant to let them go. 31:02 And then when we finally let them go 31:03 and we experience what God always had for us, 31:05 you know what we say? 31:07 "I should have let that thing go years ago." 31:09 Am I right? 31:12 But we hold onto it somehow. 31:14 And the woman is doing the very same thing. 31:15 She's at the well, a place of familiar occurrences. 31:18 She's got her waterpot. 31:20 She's looking at Christ, and He says, "If you only knew 31:22 who I am, I could transform your life tremendously." 31:26 She doesn't know yet who He is. 31:28 So He presses the issue. He presses the issue. 31:31 Look at the very next verse. 31:34 Verse 15. 31:41 So in other words, she got to the place where she's saying, 31:44 "I am thirsty, but if you give me this water 31:46 I'll never thirst again." 31:48 So the door is now opening. 31:50 The door is now opening. 31:51 Now Jesus is going to do something that 31:54 we don't think He should have done here, 31:56 as I think about the story. 31:57 Jesus could have simply said, "Okay, here's the water. 32:00 You'll never thirst again." 32:01 But now He goes from the surface issues in her life 32:05 to the hidden issues in her life. 32:10 Watch how He does it. 32:15 "Jesus said to her..." 32:21 Now why did He have to ask that question? 32:28 I could hear her saying, "Wasn't this about water? 32:33 What does my husband have to do with anything?" 32:36 He goes from the surface issue... 32:37 Now let me just really get clear with you. 32:39 A lot of us like to talk about the surface issues, 32:43 but when the issues start getting deep, 32:47 where the real challenges lie, 32:50 it becomes completely uncomfortable. 32:52 But I love the fact that the way that Jesus does this, 32:55 He doesn't let her back out of the conversation. 32:59 Notice how He handles this. 33:08 And He goes on to say to her, 33:10 "...in that, you have spoken truthfully." 33:12 "You've well said you have no husband." 33:14 "You've well said that you have no husband." 33:16 I'm going to go back because you just saw the scripture. 33:18 He said, "You have no husband." 33:19 Matter of fact, you know the rest of the story, 33:22 He said to her, "You've had five husbands, 33:25 and the one that you're with now is not yours." 33:30 In other words, "You keep going from one place to the next 33:33 trying to find satisfaction." 33:37 But He brought up a point that is so significant. 33:39 He says, "Go call your husband." 33:43 Now, this is where the sermon begins. 33:46 All that was foundation. 33:48 This is where the sermon begins. 33:49 Tonight we're going to talk about husbands. 33:52 Husbands, don't get nervous. 33:56 You're going to see we're not talking about 33:57 husbands married to wives, we're going to talk about 34:01 the controlling center of your life that Jesus calls 34:05 the husband of our relationship. 34:09 Look at this. 34:11 Look at this. 34:13 Romans 7:1 34:30 I'm going to introduce you tonight to the law. 34:33 To the law. 34:35 To the law called, the husband. 34:39 To the law called, the husband. 34:42 Look at Romans chapter 7. Go in your Bibles there with me. 34:44 Romans chapter 7. 34:46 Matter of fact, I'm going to give it to you in just a moment. 34:48 Don't go there. 34:50 I'm going to show you first Genesis 3:16, 34:53 give you the principle, and then we're going to go to Romans 7:2. 34:56 Look at Genesis 3:16. 34:58 This is vitally important because Jesus asked the woman 35:01 about her husband. 35:04 Let's see what the Bible says about the husband in Genesis. 35:07 Genesis 3:16 35:15 So when Jesus asked the woman for her husband, 35:19 He was in essence saying, "There's somebody else 35:22 ruling your life, and I want to break his hold on your life 35:27 so that I can have a hold on your life." 35:32 And the husband that she's married to is the barrier 35:38 between her relationship with her past 35:42 and her relationship with her future. 35:45 Let's look at that. 35:46 Let's look at that very carefully here. 35:48 Romans 7:2 36:07 I showed you the law of her husband very carefully here 36:10 in Genesis 3:16. 36:12 What's the law of her husband? 36:14 "Her desire will be for him, and he will..." Do what? 36:17 "...rule over her." 36:18 Tonight, allow me to introduce you to... 36:21 And then I'm going to prove my thesis in just a moment here. 36:23 The law of her husband is the nature that we were born with. 36:30 The sin nature. The corrupt nature. 36:33 The control center of our will. 36:35 The architect of our desires. 36:37 The orchestrator of our failure. 36:39 The power that keeps us bound to the same old behaviors. 36:44 The engineer that keeps our future locked to our past. 36:49 The law that Jesus is referring to here 36:53 is that old nature that every one of us was born with. 36:58 And the Bible says again, the woman who has a husband is what? 37:03 Now get that. 37:05 She's bound to the law as long as he what? 37:09 As long as he lives. 37:10 In other words, until our old nature is put to death... 37:14 We're talking about the agent of change. 37:16 Until who we were born as is no longer in control of us, 37:22 then somebody else is now free to be in control of us. 37:27 As long as we are bound to that nature that 37:29 we received from Adam, we will never be able to produce 37:34 children, or seeds, or practices, or lifestyle 37:38 that is connected to the Christ who wants to be 37:40 the new husband in our lives. 37:43 Let's look at that very carefully. 37:45 What happens if she's bound by the law to her husband? 37:48 Notice, her desire will be for him, and he will rule over her. 37:51 There's a particular principle, the law of her husband. 37:54 Notice what that law is all about. 37:56 Matthew chapter 7, let's look at this. 38:04 So what kind of fruit does a good tree bear? 38:07 Okay, let's keep going. 38:12 Look at this law. 38:20 So in other words, if you break this down, 38:22 being bound to that law means... 38:26 Let's make it practical. 38:27 If I want to do right and I'm married to an old sinful nature, 38:32 can I do right? 38:35 So if I want to live like Jesus, but I'm married to Adam's 38:39 nature, can I live like Jesus? 38:43 If I want to be free to do what is right and good, 38:47 but I'm married to a nature that is in control of me 38:50 that I cannot produce anything good with, 38:52 can I ever become like Jesus? 38:55 Look at the principle. 38:56 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, 38:58 nor can a bad tree bear..." What? 39:01 And the reason why the Bible talks bad fruit and good fruit 39:04 is, there are only two types of individuals. 39:08 How many types did I say? 39:10 Only two. 39:11 Those who are bearing good fruit, 39:12 and those who are bearing what? Bad fruit. 39:15 But tonight you're going to discover 39:16 something very important. 39:21 Bad fruit don't show up because we decide... 39:25 Sorry, good fruit don't show up because we decide 39:28 that good fruit are going to show up. 39:31 The only way that good fruit can show up 39:34 is if the tree is good. 39:38 Did you get that? 39:40 Will you find apples on an orange tree, yes or no? 39:43 Will you find oranges on an apple tree, yes or no? 39:46 Boy, that's kind of a weak yes or no. 39:48 - Yes or no? ~ No. 39:50 So what has to happen to find apples on an apple tree? 39:55 I gave you the answer. 39:57 It has to be an apple tree, right? 40:00 What has to happen for there to be righteous living 40:03 in a person's life? 40:05 We have to be connected to what kind of tree? 40:07 A righteous tree. 40:09 So we cannot make these changes intellectually. 40:12 Jeremiah makes it very clear. 40:13 Look at Jeremiah 13:23. 40:16 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin," yes or no? 40:33 Wow, it's going to get a little deeper here in just a moment. 40:37 You see, this message about agent of change, 40:39 if I were to grade any of the messages I've covered so far, 40:42 this message is the pivotal message between 40:46 all that we want to be and all that we still might be. 40:56 We may be living a life that has repeated practices and habits 40:59 that are coming up over and over, 41:02 and we're desiring for those things to be 41:04 changed in our lives. 41:05 And we get to the point where we grit our teeth, 41:09 we say, "Okay, today I'm not going to do it. 41:11 I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. 41:13 I'm not going to do it." 41:14 And then we try in our own human ability 41:17 to try to hold out as long as we can. 41:19 And then eventually it shows up again. 41:21 You know why? 41:23 Because the nature of the tree has not yet been changed. 41:26 Follow me very carefully. 41:28 So can the Ethiopian change his skin? 41:30 Absolutely not. 41:32 Look at this. 41:33 When you wake up in the morning, 41:35 look at the two choices you have. 41:36 Romans 6:16 41:39 Romans 6:16 41:41 This comes down to choice. 41:43 You see, before baptism, before a person is free 41:47 to say, "I want to give my life to Christ," 41:49 we've got to make a choice. 41:50 And notice how powerful, notice how powerful 41:53 the nature of sin is. 41:55 But also notice how powerful the nature of righteousness is. 42:00 Look at this text. 42:01 I have been studying a little more than a year now, 42:05 and I've discovered in the Bible that there are three particular 42:08 verses in Scripture that have given me 42:11 what I might refer to as the answers to life's 42:14 most important questions. 42:16 And the question is this, one of the most important 42:18 questions is this: 42:19 How can I live so that Jesus can be seen in my life? 42:25 How many of you want that? 42:27 Everyone of us want to live so that Jesus 42:30 can be seen in our lives. 42:32 So how does that happen? 42:34 Let's look at this text. 42:36 Romans 6:16 42:50 It starts by this: by presenting ourselves. 42:54 Now I use to think... 42:56 And let me just put this into context. 42:58 You know, some people may say, "Well, I'm not a Christian, 43:01 but I'm doing my own thing." 43:03 Have you heard that phrase before? 43:04 "I'm doing..." You know, no we're not. 43:06 No one does his or her own thing. 43:10 We are either doing God's thing, living righteously, 43:15 or we're doing Satan's thing, living unrighteously. 43:18 Because there's no third category in this text. 43:22 Either we have made a decision to present ourselves 43:26 to the slave of disobedience or we've made the decision 43:31 to present ourselves to the slave of obedience. 43:34 Now the Bible uses the word, slave, for a particular reason. 43:37 It's a hard word. 43:38 The word, slave, is not the kind of word we like to use. 43:40 Amen, somebody. 43:42 But the word, slave, is intended to let you know 43:45 that the moment you make that decision, 43:47 follow carefully, the moment you make that decision, 43:49 it is no longer you who is in control. 43:52 Have you ever done something that you said later on, 44:00 "I never thought I'd do that." 44:04 No amens necessary on that one. 44:07 I want you to think. 44:10 I think we've all been at the place where we've 44:12 done something, we've said, 44:13 "I never thought I could do that. 44:15 I never thought I would... 44:16 I never thought I could actually do that." 44:19 You know why it happened? 44:21 Because when we present ourselves, 44:23 when we present ourselves as a slave to disobedience, 44:27 slaves never tell the master what to do. 44:30 The master always tells the slave what to do. 44:35 This is a very important topic. 44:36 So the master, who is Satan, the moment you submit yourself 44:40 to him...handcuffed. 44:42 And he decides what you're going to do. 44:45 The moment you submit yourself to Christ, 44:48 He decides what you're going to do. 44:50 And let me tell you something. 44:52 When the Lord decides what you're going to do, 44:54 here's the difference: 44:55 When you submit to Satan, you will do things you never thought 44:57 you would ever do. 44:59 But when you submit yourself to Christ, 45:01 you will be able to do things you never thought you could do. 45:07 That's why some people, years later, they come into the church 45:09 and say, "Isn't that the guy who use to be in prison for robbery? 45:13 How is he the head treasurer of the church? 45:17 They trust him with money?" 45:19 I mean, think about it. Let's put this together. 45:21 How many of you would trust the apostle Paul, 45:24 who use to be Saul, persecutor of Christians? 45:29 How many of you would have him preach at your church 45:32 a week after his conversion? 45:34 "Who's preaching in Antioch?" "Paul." 45:37 "Haven't heard of him before." 45:38 "He used to be named Saul. He said he was converted. 45:41 He's doing an evangelistic series." 45:42 "I ain't going." 45:46 But now years later, thousands of years later, 45:49 we say, "The apostle Paul, a man of God." 45:53 But how many of you would have come to his evangelistic series 45:56 the week after he got converted? 45:57 Really, honestly? 46:00 And then when the chapter of 2 Chronicles ended 46:04 and 1 Chronicles began, the Lord said to Solomon, 46:09 "If you would walk in the ways of your father David, 46:13 and keep all My commandments as your father David did..." 46:18 You're saying, "Is He talking about the same David I know? 46:22 The guy that had an adulterous affair with a woman, 46:27 and then had her husband killed? 46:29 Is He saying that Solomon should walk in the 46:31 commandments like he did?" 46:34 Let me tell you something, brothers and sisters. 46:36 When the Lord comes into your life, 46:39 your past is not just forgiven, it is washed away. 46:44 Amen? 46:46 So the Lord looks at you, we use this word, justified. 46:48 But sometimes we don't understand what it means. 46:51 Justified simply means, and as you've said this before, 46:53 it really does mean the Lord looks at a redeemed sinner 46:57 just as if he had never sinned. 47:03 And the reason why this topic is important is because 47:04 so many people have been Christians for a long time, 47:09 and one of the most painful questions I've heard 47:11 Christians say is, way up in their years, 47:14 "You know, I'm not sure if I'm going to be saved." 47:17 I've heard many... 47:18 I've heard many Adventists say that. 47:21 "I'm not sure if I'm going to be saved." 47:25 How long you been... How... Sorry. 47:28 Okay, here's the point. 47:30 You may have been Adventist for many years, 47:32 but you may not have been a Christian for many years. 47:34 Because being an Adventist and being a Christian 47:36 is not the same thing. 47:38 And Adventist is somebody who accepts all the doctrines. 47:42 But an Adventist Christian is somebody who has been 47:44 transformed by the grace of Christ. 47:46 - Amen, someone. ~ Amen. 47:48 A Christian in any walk of life is a person who is 47:51 first transformed, then informed. 47:55 But so many of us are informed. 47:57 So many of us, as Pastor C.A. says, 47:59 so many of us are convicted by the message 48:03 but not converted by the message. 48:06 So we have more convicts in our church than converts. 48:12 Don't want that. 48:14 So what's the answer? Let's look at the Bible. 48:16 And by the way, when I say this, 48:17 the moment you submit to someone, you'll discover that 48:20 you are no longer in charge. 48:21 I've got the evidence here. Look at John 1:29. 48:24 The beauty of the message is when John saw Jesus coming, 48:27 he made a particular statement that is true about all of us. 48:30 Only Jesus can take away the sin of the world. 48:32 And the sin of the world is the broken nature 48:34 that every one of us is born with. 48:36 "Behold, the Lamb of God that..." Does what? 48:39 "...taketh away the..." What? 48:40 "...sin of the world." Yes. 48:42 But look at Romans. 48:44 When you submit to a nature that you cannot control, 48:47 Paul himself going through this experience 48:49 admitted these words... 48:50 He says, once he submitted to the wrong nature, 48:53 notice what he said... 49:04 So you wonder, "Why do I go back home? 49:06 After I leave a meeting..." 49:07 "Why do I leave the church and say, 49:09 'I'm not going to smoke tonight. I'm not going to smoke tonight.' 49:19 I didn't mean on doing that." 49:22 You know why? 49:24 Because the power that was controlling you 49:26 have not yet been broken. 49:29 And the power that controls you will make you do things 49:32 until the power that controls you has been put to death 49:37 and another power is in charge. 49:41 Let's go on. We've got to see this. 49:43 That's what Paul meant when he said in Romans 6:6-7... 49:46 "Knowing this..." 49:48 Speaking about the transformation from being 49:50 in bondage to being made free. 50:02 What body of sin? 50:03 This nature that Adam gave to every one of us 50:05 is what's in control of us. 50:07 And until this nature is put to death, 50:09 we have no freedom to do anything but what the 50:12 sin nature wants us to do. 50:15 "...that the body of sin might be done away with..." 50:17 And look at the wording. 50:28 Not sins, but sin. 50:32 The nature of sin. 50:35 That means the control center has been torn down 50:40 and a new control center has been put in place. 50:43 That means Satan no longer has you handcuffed to him, 50:47 we are now handcuffed to Christ. 50:51 But let's continue going on. 50:53 Let's continue going on. 50:55 Romans 7:4 51:03 This is one of the most misunderstood 51:05 scriptures in the Bible. 51:07 People think when it says, "You become dead to the law," 51:09 they think you become dead to the commandments. 51:11 No. 51:12 That means you become dead to the law 51:14 that's been controlling you. 51:15 How many of you have heard of gravity? 51:21 You know what gravity is? 51:25 Gravity is in control. 51:27 What goes up must come down. 51:30 But when the law that controls the nature 51:34 has been broken, you've been freed from that controlling law. 51:38 Notice what it goes on to say further. 51:55 I've got to move a little quicker tonight. 51:56 I've got to move a little quicker. 51:58 Here's how beautiful that is. Here's how beautiful that is. 52:01 Here is where the transformation comes in. 52:03 When Jesus comes in, and that old sin nature has been 52:07 put down, the sin that was in control is no longer in control. 52:12 Who is in control now? 52:15 The apostle Paul declares... 52:19 If you're crucified, you have your nature put to death. 52:23 And notice what he says. 52:43 When the woman submitted herself to Jesus... 52:46 I want you to get this. 52:48 I have two more scriptures. 52:49 Tim make your way to the piano. 52:51 I have two more scriptures that are vitally important. 52:53 I've got to share them with you. 52:55 When the woman finally submitted herself to Jesus, 52:58 notice what happened. 53:00 The very thing that she identified with every day, 53:03 notice what happened. 53:04 Look at the verse. 53:07 The woman left her waterpot. 53:13 The very thing that she had with her every day, 53:16 every day, every day, every day, when she submitted herself 53:20 to Christ, she was finally able to put it down. 53:32 Not unusual. 53:33 They knew her to talk to men. 53:35 But this time her life was different. 53:46 And you'll discover that the city was converted because 53:49 she found Christ and left the very thing of her past identity, 53:55 let go of the husbands of her past identity, 53:58 and had a new Man in her life. 54:00 Amen, somebody. 54:01 What made the difference? What made the difference? 54:04 Joshua 24:15, very quickly. Let's read this together. 54:07 What made the difference? Choice. 54:22 Tomorrow night we're going into part two, 54:25 Getting Connected. 54:26 Tonight we've covered what it means to break the hold 54:30 on the nature that we were born with. 54:32 It's done by making one simple choice. 54:35 The question is tonight, who will you choose? 54:39 Whoever you choose is the one that will determine 54:43 how you live. 54:45 Tim. 54:52 Lord, I give You my heart, 54:56 I give You my soul. 55:01 I live for You alone. 55:05 Every breath that I take, 55:09 every moment I'm awake, 55:14 Lord, have Your way in me. 55:18 Lord, I give You my heart, 55:22 I give You my soul. 55:27 I live for You alone. 55:31 Every breath that I take, 55:35 every moment I'm awake, 55:40 Lord, have Your way in me. 55:46 I want us to sing that song one time with Tim. 55:48 Can we do that once? Can we do that? 55:49 That's what I want you to do tonight. 55:50 Give the Lord your heart and your soul. 55:54 That's the only way that the past can be put down 55:59 and the new life in Christ can come in. 56:02 Can we sing that one time together? 56:04 Lord, I give You my heart, 56:08 I give You my soul. 56:13 I live for You alone. 56:17 Every breath that I take, 56:21 every moment I'm awake, 56:25 Lord, have Your way in me. 56:30 Lord, I give You my heart, 56:33 I give You my soul. 56:38 I live for You alone. 56:42 Every breath that I take, 56:45 every moment I'm awake, 56:50 Lord, have Your way in me. 56:55 Tonight I'm going to ask you to do something. 56:57 If there's somebody here tonight that wants to give the Lord 57:00 their will, their way, their heart, their soul, 57:04 just stand with me tonight. 57:05 Just stand with me. 57:09 This is the choice I'm talking about. 57:10 Choosing, choosing moment by moment, 57:13 day by day, hour by hour. 57:16 Loving Father in heaven, the choice between our failure 57:20 and our success is choosing You. 57:23 The choice between the habits that bind us 57:26 and the Lord that frees us is You. 57:29 Precious Father, tonight we make that decision 57:33 to give You our hearts and to give You our souls, 57:38 that You'll come in and make a transitional change in us. 57:42 Sever us from the habits of our past, 57:46 sever us from the practices of our past, 57:50 the things that have kept us going back over and over 57:52 to the very same familiar places. 57:55 Lord, tonight may we choose You, 57:58 that You'll be our Deliverer, 58:00 the Husband of our future, 58:02 the One that produces fruits of righteousness through us, 58:07 the One that brings the light of life and joy and freedom to us. 58:11 Help us to choose every moment of every day 58:17 the God who has come to free us. 58:20 Father, tonight this is the freedom that we want 58:24 that is only found in our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. 58:31 We ask for this, Father. 58:32 Please come in, by Your Holy Spirit, 58:36 and set us free. 58:38 In Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2018-07-02