Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM200003S
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00:01 A great controversy rages between good and evil
00:03 and humanity is caught in the crossfire. 00:05 Satan has crafted his most cunning end-time deceptions, 00:09 but his plans are doomed to fail. 00:11 Get ready to anchor your minds in truth 00:13 as the Bible exposes his lies 00:16 and prepares us for our soon-coming Savior. 00:18 And now live from the Campus Hill Church 00:21 of Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California, 00:24 we bring you this presentation 00:25 of the Great Controversy End-time Deceptions. 00:31 Good morning and welcome to winter camp meeting. 00:34 I have to tell you in Southern California, 00:36 it does not feel like winter. 00:39 It's in the 70s, there's beautiful sunshine. 00:41 So if you're in a state or a part of the world 00:43 where you have a lot of snow, 00:45 hopefully you can feel the warmth 00:46 that's here, weather wise, but most importantly, 00:49 we have the Holy Spirit here 00:50 and the warmth of the people that are here in our audience. 00:52 Have you guys been blessed already so far? 00:54 Yeah. Amen. 00:56 Hopefully you can hear that at home. 00:57 We have been blessed. 00:59 We're looking forward to another full day here. 01:01 I get to introduce my wife and what a blessing that is. 01:04 She's the speaker this morning. 01:06 And I know that this program is going to be aired later on. 01:08 But for right now, today is Valentine's Day 01:11 and I said, "Wow, how fitting is that? 01:13 I get to introduce my wife." 01:14 We've been married this year, 18 years. 01:17 So, yeah, my wife I know, I'm so blessed. 01:20 Thank you very much. 01:22 I'm so blessed to have a wonderful wife. 01:23 She loves the Lord. 01:25 She is a student of the Word 01:26 and I know many of you watch the Sabbath School Panel. 01:29 She puts her heart and soul 01:31 along with all the other panelists as well, 01:33 but she loves the Word of God. 01:34 Even this morning 01:36 as she was preparing for today's message, 01:38 she was just immersing herself in God's Word, 01:41 and God has given her tremendous gift of teaching. 01:44 But not only that, I'm blessed with a wonderful wife. 01:46 She's a wonderful teammate. 01:47 It's a blessing to team up with her at 3ABN 01:50 and being a part of the ministry 01:52 is a tremendous blessing. 01:54 Before she shares the message today, 01:56 which is entitled Twisted Destruction, 01:58 we have some wonderful music by Stephanie Dawn 02:01 entitled "He Who Dwells" 02:02 and she'll be accompanied by her stepfather, Dan Thorton. 02:07 As we get started let's open in prayer. 02:09 Father in heaven, Lord, we thank You for Your love. 02:12 We thank You for Your Holy Spirit. 02:14 Thank You for the power of Your Word 02:16 that can change our lives. 02:18 And in Jesus' name we pray. 02:20 Amen. Amen. 02:21 Thank you, Stephanie. 02:42 Angels all around me 02:46 Guide my footsteps as I stray 02:52 Evil once around me 02:56 Though their powers kept at bay 03:01 And though terror strikes By night time 03:06 And the arrows fly by day 03:11 Lord, You are my refuge 03:16 I will trust in You and say 03:21 He who dwells in the shelter 03:26 Of the Most High 03:28 Will abide in the shadow Of the Almighty 03:34 He who dwells in the shelter 03:39 Of the Most High 03:42 Will abide 03:44 in the secret place of God 03:55 Cover me with feathers From your rings 03:59 I'm hiding there 04:03 Underneath the canopy of safety 04:09 And of care 04:12 And if once again 04:15 I want to find my foot Trapped in the snare 04:21 Even though I can see no escape 04:28 I'll still declare 04:31 He who dwells in the shelter Of the Most High 04:38 Will abide in the shadow Of the Almighty 04:44 He who dwells in the shelter Of the Most High 04:52 Will abide In the secret place of God 05:04 Those who know and love Me 05:07 I will rescue, says the Lord 05:12 Favored and abundant life 05:16 I'll give as My reward 05:21 And when they're in trouble 05:26 I will answer when they cry 05:33 There I will see my glory 05:40 For I'll raise them up on high 05:45 Those who dwelled In the shelter of the Most High 05:51 Will abide in the shadow Of the Almighty 05:57 You who dwelled in the shelter 06:01 Of the Most High 06:05 Will abide in the secret place 06:11 You'll abide In the secret place 06:17 We'll abide in the secret place 06:23 Of God 06:42 Amen. 06:43 Thank you so much, Stephanie and Dan. 06:45 Don't you love her voice? Yeah. 06:47 The Lord has given her an incredible gift. 06:50 And I love to hear them minister together. 06:52 He who dwells 06:54 in the secret place of the Most High 06:56 shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 07:00 Good morning. 07:02 Good morning. 07:03 That was a really nice introduction from Greg. 07:05 I just have to tell you all right now. 07:08 Very special to have him introduce me, 07:10 especially on Valentine's Day. 07:14 Twisted Destruction. 07:18 It's an interesting title. 07:20 I did not pick it. 07:22 But I like it. 07:24 Can scripture be misunderstood? 07:28 Can scripture be misapplied? 07:32 Can scripture be misinterpreted? 07:37 Can scripture be twisted? 07:40 You all are quiet today. 07:42 Can you make it say what you want it to say? 07:46 Yes. 07:48 Can you twist scripture to destroy yourself 07:53 or the life of someone else? 07:56 Yes. 07:57 If you answer any of those questions with a yes, 08:01 we need to know how to properly understand scripture. 08:03 Would you say that's right? Yes. 08:05 We need to know how to interpret scripture. 08:09 We need to know what God intended for us 08:12 when He wrote the Word of God. 08:15 Turn with me to 2 Peter, 08:17 this is our launching scripture. 08:19 2 Peter Chapter 3. 08:20 Now, you know, Peter was in prison 08:25 just before he is executed. 08:29 The Book of 2 Peter is written probably AD 65. 08:34 This is under the persecution of Nero. 08:37 And in AD 65 just before he's going to his death, 08:41 he writes the Book of 2 Peter. 08:44 You can even get a sense of that 08:46 when you read 2 Peter Chapter 1, 08:48 because it's quite clear. 08:50 He says, now this tent, 08:51 this body is about ready to be put off. 08:55 He knows he's about ready to die. 08:58 We're in 2 Peter Chapter 3. 09:00 It's really like his last testament. 09:05 It's a warning against false teachers. 09:08 It's a reminder of the inspired authority of scripture, 09:13 and exhortation to purity of heart and of life. 09:18 So, we're in 2 Peter 3:14-16. 09:22 "Therefore, beloved, 09:23 looking forward to these things, 09:26 be diligent to be found by Him in peace 09:29 without spot and blameless. 09:31 And consider that the long suffering of our Lord is," 09:35 what's that word? 09:37 "Salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul, 09:40 according to the wisdom given to him 09:42 has written to you, 09:45 as also in all his epistles, 09:46 speaking in them of these things, 09:48 and which are some things hard to understand 09:52 which untaught and unstable people 09:57 twist to their own destruction. 10:00 As they do also the rest of the scripture." 10:02 So, what is Peter saying here? 10:04 First of all, he's saying the Apostle Paul 10:06 can sometimes be hard to understand. 10:09 Yes. Is that true? 10:11 And then he goes on, he says, untaught people, 10:14 now in the Greek that word is only used one time. 10:17 And it means ignorant, unlearned. 10:21 So ignorant, unlearned, untaught people, 10:25 unstable people, you see the next word unstable? 10:29 And in Greek it literally means 10:30 you don't have a staff to lean on. 10:33 So, these are people 10:35 who don't have something to lean on, 10:37 something to anchor themselves 10:39 with untaught, unstable. 10:44 What do they do? 10:45 They take these things that are hard to understand, 10:48 and they twist them to their own destruction. 10:54 Now that word for destruction means loss 10:57 and eternal ruin. 11:00 And the word "twist," this is very fascinating, 11:04 the word "twist" means torture, twist. 11:09 The noun form literally refers to the instrument of torture. 11:13 So almost as if the Medieval Ages, 11:15 what do they call that, the rack, 11:17 where they would twist people and torture people. 11:21 So, this means that there are some passages 11:23 that people who don't know, people who don't understand, 11:29 read them, and they twist them. 11:34 And people's lives are lost 11:39 because of it. 11:40 Father, we come before You just now. 11:45 I ask for Your Holy Spirit, 11:49 that You would hide me behind Jesus, 11:52 that Your Word would go forward with power. 11:57 And You would speak to us just now. 12:00 In Jesus' name. 12:02 Amen. Amen. 12:04 It was morning, 12:10 I was in a little room, perfectly quiet. 12:14 All I could hear was the beating of my heart. 12:19 My mom sat on the table 12:22 and one of those little gowns you have to wear. 12:26 When you go to the doctor's, you know those little gowns. 12:29 I hate those gowns. 12:31 She's sitting on the table, one of those little gowns, 12:35 my dad is on this side of the room, 12:36 arms folded across his chest back against the wall. 12:40 I'm on this side of the room, arms folded across my chest, 12:45 back against the wall. 12:47 Silence in the room. 12:50 We're waiting for the doctor's verdict. 12:54 My mom had had health challenges 12:57 and we didn't know what was wrong. 12:59 And we had had test after test after test. 13:03 And now we're in the room 13:04 waiting for the doctor to walk through that door and say, 13:08 "This is what's wrong with you." 13:10 And desperately in my mind 13:12 I tried to remember that scripture. 13:14 What was the scripture I was supposed to claim? 13:16 Oh, that was it. 13:18 Psalm 112:7. 13:21 "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. 13:26 His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." 13:30 Now you see that is what the scripture said. 13:33 But I had twisted the scripture to my own destruction. 13:38 I'm sitting here, this side of the wall, 13:40 arms across my chest thinking, 13:44 "As long as I keep my heart fixed on God, 13:48 nothing bad's gonna happen." 13:50 Now is that what the scripture said? 13:53 What did the scripture say? 13:55 He will be with you. 13:56 That's right, Bruce, 13:58 and you do not have to be afraid. 14:02 That's what the scripture said. 14:04 But for whatever reason, 14:05 I thought the scripture meant as long as my heart is fixed, 14:09 come on, Jill, fix your heart, fix your heart, focus on Jesus, 14:12 nothing evil will happen. 14:15 Well, the doctor walked in 14:17 and the diagnosis was not what we expected, 14:20 not what we wanted. 14:23 And I can still remember, it's been over 20 years, 14:25 I still remember as if it was yesterday. 14:28 My dad just closing his eyes and I started to cry. 14:32 And I thought, "God, what's wrong with you? 14:35 I claimed that promise 14:37 in Your Word." 14:42 But I didn't claim it correctly. 14:43 Is that right? 14:44 I did not even understand what that promise said, 14:48 I twisted it to my own destruction. 14:54 I want to give you today 14:55 if you watch Sabbath School Panel, 14:56 you know I like lists. 14:59 So, you have lists today if you have paper and pen, 15:02 four reasons why people twist scripture. 15:07 Four reasons. 15:09 Now there's probably more, 15:10 but we're going to start with these four. 15:11 Why do people twist scripture? 15:13 Number one, tradition. 15:17 It's what I've always been taught. 15:20 That's all I know. 15:21 So I make application based off of what I know. 15:25 Number two, self-justification. 15:31 I make the Bible say what I want the Bible to say. 15:35 And you better listen to me. 15:37 I make the application to suit my own needs, 15:42 my own beliefs, 15:45 or sometimes even to hurt someone else. 15:48 Number three, complexity. 15:52 This could have been what Peter referred to. 15:54 Some things in the Bible are simply hard to understand. 15:59 And so, I just make the best application 16:01 I know how to make. 16:03 Number four is fear. 16:06 It is hard sometimes 16:08 to reconcile life with scripture. 16:12 And so, I just make an application 16:17 the best way I can to explain the unexplainable. 16:22 So let's go over the four. What was the first one? 16:24 Tradition. Second one? 16:26 Self-justification. Good job. 16:27 Self-justification. 16:29 Third one, complexity. 16:31 And the fourth one. Fear. 16:32 Fear. Good. 16:34 Let's go back to tradition. 16:35 Number one. 16:36 We twist scripture to our own destruction 16:40 because it's what I've been taught. 16:42 This is all I know. 16:44 Tradition is difficult 16:46 because I bring my own presuppositions to the table. 16:49 Now you might say 16:50 what in the world is a presupposition? 16:53 It is a thing assumed before any argument 16:58 or course of action. 17:00 In other words 17:01 we bring presuppositions into everything in life. 17:05 They come from our background, from our culture, 17:09 from the way we were raised from the things we experience 17:12 or the things we don't experience. 17:14 I just call it baggage. 17:15 Y'all have any baggage? 17:18 Oh, good, I feel better. 17:19 We bring presuppositions into our relationships. 17:23 Have you ever done that? 17:24 You ever brought a presupposition 17:26 into a relationship? 17:29 Wow. 17:30 My grandparents had a great marriage. 17:35 My grandma died probably 25 years ago. 17:37 But I remember as a little girl going to their house 17:41 and grandma would get up early 17:44 and she always put on a pretty dress. 17:46 Grandpa's still sleeping in bed, okay? 17:48 She put on a pretty dress, 17:50 she would start to make breakfast. 17:53 Then she would get some nice orange juice. 17:56 And she would open up the bedroom door and say, 17:58 "Sweetheart, here's your orange juice." 18:01 She did that every day for their entire married life. 18:05 She ironed the sheets. 18:12 Praise the Lord. 18:13 I'm just glad to wash them, okay. 18:17 She ironed his undershirts. 18:23 So, she took very good care of him, 18:26 that's what I'm trying to say. 18:28 She passed away, my grandpa remarried. 18:30 Would you imagine he brought a few presuppositions 18:33 into his new marriage? 18:36 "Well, my first wife brought me orange juice in bed, 18:40 my first wife ironed my sheets and she ironed my undershirts." 18:45 Presuppositions, we bring them into relationships. 18:48 We bring them into our understanding of God. 18:53 How my mom treated me, 18:55 how my dad treated me, we think, 18:57 "Oh, that's how God must be, that's who He must be." 19:03 We bring them into our jobs. 19:04 This is how I did it before at my old job, 19:06 why don't you do it this way at the new job? 19:09 We bring them into our study of the Word of God. 19:14 No one comes to study of scripture with a blank mind. 19:18 We all bring our understanding, our background, 19:23 our presupposition, you know, the disciples did this. 19:26 If you think about Luke 24, that is the walk to Emmaus. 19:31 And remember, they knew Jesus, they had experienced Jesus. 19:35 And remember after He's crucified 19:37 and He was resurrected, 19:38 the disciples are walking to Emmaus and what happened? 19:42 Jesus showed up, 19:44 and they did not even know who He was. 19:48 You see, they had a presupposition 19:51 that the Messiah would come as a conquering King, 19:55 as our hero, 19:56 someone who would break the Roman yoke. 19:59 And so, they were not even prepared 20:03 for a Jesus who would be the suffering servant. 20:07 How do we bring our traditions or our presuppositions 20:11 into our own study of the Word of God? 20:14 Many times, we hold tradition 20:18 over what the Bible says. 20:22 Sometimes we take one scripture out of context 20:28 or in isolation from the rest of the Bible, 20:31 and we say, "Oh, clearly, 20:32 this is what the Word of God says." 20:34 You think about Revelation 1 20:37 talks about I was in the spirit, 20:39 John's writing, right? 20:40 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. 20:41 We take one scripture and what do we say? 20:44 Oh, we need to go to church on Sunday, 20:46 ignoring everything else 20:48 the Word of God has to say about that topic. 20:53 We take one scripture out of context. 20:56 What is the solution for tradition? 20:59 We all have tradition. 21:00 We all have presuppositions, 21:02 we all come to our understanding 21:04 of the Word of God with something from the past. 21:07 I think there's a fourfold approach. 21:09 Turn with me to the Book of Acts. 21:12 The Book of Acts, we're going to Acts Chapter 8. 21:15 The first key is that we approach scripture 21:19 with an open mind. 21:21 We all come with a presupposition 21:24 or a tradition from the past, 21:26 but we approach scripture with an open mind 21:30 or in Acts Chapter 8. 21:32 Now remember, the church had a little difficulty 21:35 in the early Christian church, 21:37 because some of the widows were neglected. 21:40 Do you remember that story? 21:42 And then in Acts Chapter 6, they said, 21:44 "What are we going to do? 21:45 We are going to appoint deacons who can serve in the church 21:50 and make sure that everyone's needs are met." 21:54 Well, one of the deacons his name was Philip, 21:58 we come to Acts Chapter 8. 22:00 And we see the angel of the Lord telling Philip, 22:03 get up, go down to Gaza. 22:06 And so, he goes down to Gaza and there is, 22:09 we call him the Ethiopian eunuch, right? 22:13 And he was returning 22:15 from Jerusalem riding in his chariot. 22:17 We pick up the story in Acts 8:29. 22:22 "Then the Spirit said to Philip, 22:23 go near and overtake this chariot. 22:26 So Philip ran to him 22:27 and hurt him reading the prophet Isaiah, 22:30 and said, 'Do you understand what you're reading?' 22:33 And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me.' 22:38 And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 22:41 The place in the Scripture which he read was this. 22:43 'He was led as a sheep to the slaughter 22:45 and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb.'" 22:48 Where's that quoted from? 22:50 Isaiah 53, right, the Messianic prophecy. 22:54 Down to verse 34. 22:55 "The eunuch answered Philip and said, 22:57 'I ask you of whom does the Prophet say this 22:59 if himself or of some other man?' 23:02 Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at the scripture 23:06 preached Jesus to him." 23:09 You know what I see? 23:11 I see an open heart and open mind 23:15 to set aside preconceived ideas 23:19 and to see what God's Word really says. 23:23 The Ethiopian eunuch could have easily said, 23:25 "Okay, I don't want to hear what you have to say. 23:29 I read this and I wanted to say what I think it ought to say." 23:32 I wanted to say what tradition says. 23:35 The first key when we're trying to break that bond of tradition 23:40 is to approach the study of scripture with an open mind. 23:44 The second key is to be willing to accept 23:48 what God's Word says, above any tradition. 23:53 So first, we just need an open mind 23:55 to read the Word of God. 23:56 Second, we need to be willing to accept it. 24:00 To put into practice what we read. 24:04 And we see the Ethiopian eunuch does this, verse 36. 24:09 "Now as they went down the road, 24:10 they came to some water, 24:12 and the eunuch said, 'See, here's water, 24:14 what hinders me from being baptized?' 24:16 Then Philip said, 24:18 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' 24:19 And he answered and said, 24:21 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'" 24:26 So, the Ethiopian eunuch accepted right away, 24:30 and he said, "I'm ready to get baptized." 24:34 The third key is we seek 24:36 the Holy Spirit's guidance and interpretation. 24:40 And John 16, Jesus says, John 16:13. 24:45 "However, when He, the spirit of truth, has come, 24:47 He will guide you into..." just a few truths. 24:49 All. All truth. 24:51 You guys are listening. Good. 24:52 "He will guide you into all truth 24:54 for He will not speak on His own authority. 24:58 But whatsoever He hears 25:00 He will speak and He will tell you of things to come." 25:04 And the fourth key is to just study, 25:07 study the Word of God. 25:09 Think about the Bereans. 25:11 Acts 16:11. 25:14 What does Paul say? Or I guess Luke was writing. 25:16 These were more fair minded than those in Thessalonica. 25:21 He's speaking of the Bereans. 25:23 And that they received the Word with all readiness. 25:26 And they searched the scriptures daily, 25:30 whether these things were so. 25:33 So the first way we can twist scripture 25:37 to our own destruction is tradition. 25:40 Do you remember what the second way was? 25:42 Self-justification. Yes, self-justification. 25:47 We say, the Word of God says what I want it to say. 25:51 And you better listen to me. 25:52 We say the Word of God needs to be applied 25:55 to suit my own needs 25:57 and my own beliefs. 26:01 Now I want to be careful, 26:03 I prayed very special about this this morning. 26:06 And how I share this particular topic, 26:08 self-justification, 26:10 because it is the attitude of a Pharisee. 26:14 Self-justification consists of condemnation 26:18 toward other people 26:19 and self-righteousness toward myself. 26:24 In other words, I esteem myself really highly. 26:27 And yet I judge other people. 26:29 Think about examples of self-justification, 26:32 it started in the garden, right? 26:33 When Adam took up the fruit and ate, what happened? 26:37 When God came in and said, "Why are you eating this fruit? 26:39 I told you not to do that." 26:41 And what did he say? 26:43 "The woman you made for me, she did," right? 26:47 And what did Eve say? 26:49 "The serpent you created," 26:52 seeking to justify their sin. 26:56 Think about Aaron 26:57 when the golden calf experience happened 27:00 when Moses had gone up to the Mount. 27:02 And the golden calf experience happened. 27:04 What did he say? 27:05 "The people made me do it." 27:09 The incompetent man doesn't say, 27:12 "I'm dumb and shouldn't have this job. 27:13 I'm not doing a good job." 27:15 What does he say? 27:16 "Why are other people so hard on me? 27:18 They don't understand my circumstances." 27:22 The sexually immoral person doesn't say, 27:25 "I'm morally impure." 27:27 What do they say? 27:28 "I just want to be loved." 27:30 The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day didn't say, 27:34 "We're killing an innocent man, the Son of God." 27:39 They said, "This man is committing blasphemy, 27:42 He is stirring up the people, 27:45 He's worthy of death," 27:47 all seeking to justify themselves. 27:53 People who are self-righteous 27:54 or engaged in self-justification 27:57 rarely make us want to be like them. 28:00 Is that true? 28:02 You ever want to be like a person like that? 28:04 Here's some signs for those 28:06 who engage in self-justification. 28:09 First sign is that people 28:11 who engage in this use scripture 28:14 to manipulate people. 28:17 Have you ever seen that? 28:19 Think about Ephesians Chapter 5, 28:20 what is Ephesians Chapter 5? 28:22 It talks about the role of husbands and wives 28:25 in a marriage relationship. 28:28 Woman, the wife, to submit to her husband, 28:31 the husband to love his wife. 28:33 And yet some people take that scripture 28:36 and say that abuse is acceptable. 28:39 That's an example of taking scripture 28:42 and twisting it to manipulate people. 28:47 Another example is when we say, 28:50 "God told me" 28:53 and really we're just justifying 28:55 our own behavior. 28:57 Some people say, "My season is over," 29:01 when in reality, 29:02 they just want to leave that ministry 29:04 because they're not recognized as they want to be 29:08 or they're not celebrated as they want to be. 29:11 Some people say, "I'll pray about it" 29:15 when they have no intention of praying at all. 29:19 Think about James. 29:21 James is kind of a heavy book. 29:22 You ever read the book of James? 29:24 It's kind of heavy. 29:25 We get to James 2:15, 17. 29:28 And James says, "If a brother, sister is naked 29:31 and destitute of daily food, 29:34 and one of you says to them, 29:36 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' 29:39 but you do not give them the things 29:41 that are needed for the body. 29:44 What does it profit? 29:47 Thus also faith by itself, 29:48 if it does not have works is dead." 29:52 That's like telling someone 29:53 who desperately needs something, 29:56 "I'll pray for you," 29:57 when you're really not going to do anything about it. 30:01 Another sign of people 30:02 who are engaged in self-justification, 30:05 they seek to minister to others 30:08 while neglecting their own family. 30:11 Matthew 6:33, what's the Word of God say? 30:14 "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness 30:19 and all these things shall be added unto you." 30:24 And some people say, 30:25 "I need to put ministry above family 30:30 or ministry above my own relationship 30:35 with Jesus." 30:36 Another sign is to legalistically use scripture 30:41 to appear righteous before other people. 30:44 I had someone come up to me and experience once and said, 30:47 "You know, Jill, 30:48 have you followed Matthew 18 and its principle?" 30:52 And I knew instantly there was nothing godly 30:55 about that question 30:57 because Matthew 18 is a very biblical principle, 31:01 and we're supposed to do that. 31:04 But if you say that scripture 31:06 in the sense of seeking to manipulate 31:09 or control someone else, that's not such a good thing. 31:14 Self-justification or self-righteousnes 31:17 is characterized by hypocrisy. 31:20 Romans 2:1, if you read Romans 1, 31:23 it's all about the sins of the Gentiles, right? 31:26 And it talks about the immorality 31:29 and the sins they're engaged in. 31:31 And the Jews probably felt pretty good 31:32 when they read Paul's writings 31:34 because they thought, "Oh, we got it together." 31:36 And yes, the Gentiles have a lot of issues 31:38 but we get to Romans 2:1. 31:41 The Word of God says, 31:43 "Therefore you are inexcusable, 31:45 O man, whoever you are, who judge 31:48 for in whatever you judge another 31:50 you condemn yourself, 31:53 for you who judge practice the same things." 31:58 Self-justification is characterized by hypocrisy. 32:01 It is characterized by pride. 32:04 James 4:6, "He gives more grace. 32:08 Therefore, He says, 'God resists the proud, 32:11 but gives grace to the humble.'" 32:15 I remember having a disagreement once 32:16 with someone that I worked with, 32:18 and I knew I was right. 32:21 I'm just telling y'all right now, okay? 32:23 It's just us here discussing this, 32:24 there's nobody else listening, I'm glad. 32:27 So, we, I knew I was right and I really knew that. 32:31 And yet the Lord said, 32:33 do you love how He works with you? 32:35 He said, "Jilly, 32:37 don't you think you could apologize?" 32:39 And I'm like, "For what? 32:41 You know I was right in this." 32:43 He said, "You have pride in your heart. 32:47 You need to repent of that." 32:51 Pride leads to a lot of issues. 32:55 And so, Praise the Lord. 32:57 I said, "God, please thank You for showing me, 32:59 would You please changed my heart." 33:01 And I went back and asked forgiveness. 33:06 And God worked to mend that, I'm so grateful. 33:09 Self-justification is characterized by hypocrisy. 33:12 Self-justification is characterized by pride. 33:15 Self-justification is characterized 33:17 by a spirit of judgment. 33:21 Think about Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:6, 7. 33:24 In Matthew 7, He says, 33:26 "Judge not that you be not judged." 33:29 What's the solution for self-justification? 33:33 God never shows us something in our heart 33:35 without showing us a way out. 33:39 First is to be quiet and listen. 33:41 You ever notice when someone talks to you, 33:44 and they're trying to tell you something? 33:46 What's your first defense? 33:48 "Oh, well, I did it this way because of this. 33:50 Well, this is why we made this decision. 33:52 Well, this is..." that's all self-justification. 33:56 Be quiet and listen. 33:58 In Job Chapter 40, you think about Job. 34:02 He was a righteous man who had been through so much. 34:05 We get to the end of the Book of Job, Job 40:1-4. 34:10 And it says, "Moreover, 34:11 the Lord answered Job, and said, 34:13 'Shall the one who contends with the Almighty rebuke him? 34:16 He who rebukes God, let him answer it.' 34:19 Then Job answered the Lord and said, 'Behold, I am vile, 34:23 what shall I answer you? 34:25 I lay my hand over my mouth.'" 34:28 So that's a good solution. 34:30 When you're tempted to self-justify yourself, 34:34 first step is just, I would say it on live TV, 34:37 maybe we shouldn't just close your mouth, that's more proper. 34:40 Close your mouth. 34:42 Be quiet and listen. 34:45 Number two, accept counsel and correction. 34:50 Be willing to accept counsel and correction. 34:55 Proverbs 1:5 says, 34:56 "A wise man will hear and increase learning 35:00 and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel." 35:04 I remember I got a letter once at my desk 35:08 and it had kind of cursive handwriting feminine looking, 35:11 you know, you can tell if it's a man or woman 35:13 by the handwriting? 35:14 Not always, usually. 35:16 This one looked feminine. 35:17 And I opened it up 35:19 and there was eight pages inside, handwritten. 35:22 And I thought, "Oh, this is great!" 35:24 And I started to read 35:25 and the first page had an issue in my life 35:29 that she saw and thought, 35:31 you know, needed some addressing. 35:33 And the second page had another issue in my life. 35:36 And the third page had another and the fourth. 35:40 So I got to the end, and I thought, "Boy, 35:42 I'm sorry I even opened it," you know? 35:44 So I folded it up, 35:45 and I put it back in and I thought, 35:47 "Well, what am I supposed to do with this right now?" 35:50 So I just stuffed it. 35:53 That's not the best thing to do with it, 35:55 but that's what I did. 35:56 I stuffed it and I didn't really talk about it, 35:59 just kept it in there. 36:01 A day went by, a week, maybe even a month. 36:05 And I was just in my devotions reading the Book of Romans. 36:08 This is how God works. 36:09 I just happened to be in Romans 15:5, 36:13 and it says, I was reading in the morning, 36:15 "Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you 36:19 to be like-minded toward one another." 36:23 "Therefore receive one another, just as I have received you." 36:28 And the Lord Jesus spoke to me in that moment and said, 36:30 "You have not received your sister." 36:36 And He said, "I want you to accept 36:39 that counseling correction that she sent you." 36:43 And so I went back to the eight-page letter again 36:45 and I began to read and I prayed this time, 36:48 "God, where can I grow? 36:50 God, what can I learn from this?" 36:52 And you know what I found? 36:54 There was quite a bit I could learn, 36:56 quite a bit that I could grow from. 36:58 So the solution for the spirit of self-justification 37:02 were quiet and listen, 37:05 we learned to accept counsel and correction. 37:09 Number three, don't twist scripture 37:14 to justify yourself 37:16 or your understanding of the Word of God. 37:19 Turn with me to Galatians. 37:21 Galatians Chapter 3. 37:23 Paul was discussing something 37:25 specifically in the book of Galatians 37:28 regarding the issue of circumcision. 37:32 The Gentile believers became Christians 37:35 and the Jews said, "Uh-uh, you're not good, yet. 37:38 You have to be circumcised, 37:40 and then we'll accept you 37:42 in the Brotherhood of Christians." 37:44 And Paul said, 37:46 "No, we are saved by grace through faith. 37:50 Circumcision doesn't have anything to do with it." 37:54 Now we read that today and we say, 37:55 "Okay, well, we don't, that's not a practice 37:58 that we need to come into a church today." 38:00 But the issue is the same. 38:03 If we're saved by grace through faith, 38:06 then that means I don't have to add on to something 38:10 in order to be saved. 38:11 That's what they were addressing 38:13 in the Galatian Church. 38:14 We're in Galatians 3:1-3. 38:18 Paul says, "O foolish Galatians!" 38:20 Now the word "foolish" means stupid in the Greek. 38:23 He's pretty strong. 38:25 "O stupid, mindless Galatians! 38:29 Who has bewitched you 38:30 that you should not obey the truth, 38:33 before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed 38:35 among you as crucified? 38:37 This only I want to learn from you. 38:39 Do you receive the Spirit by the works of the law 38:42 or by the hearing of faith? 38:43 Are you so foolish having begun in the spirit? 38:47 Are you now made perfect in the flesh?" 38:51 He gets even stronger in Galatians 5. 38:53 Galatians 5:4, every time I read this scripture, 38:58 it really gets me. 39:00 He says, "You have become estranged 39:04 from Christ." 39:06 Did you read that? 39:08 "You have become estranged from Christ, 39:13 you who attempt to be justified by the law, 39:17 you have fallen from grace." 39:20 See the Galatians had twisted scripture 39:23 to justify their own understanding 39:27 of the Word of God. 39:29 Now I want to be very clear 39:31 that God asks for obedience. 39:37 That's not what I'm saying here. 39:39 But the obedience is by grace. 39:43 God is the one who works in us 39:46 both to will and to do of His good pleasure 39:51 and our salvation is by the blood of Jesus. 39:55 Amen. 39:56 Twisted destruction. 39:58 We talked about tradition. 40:00 Twisted destruction, 40:01 we talked about self-justification. 40:03 Number three, do remember number three? 40:06 Complexity. 40:07 Sometimes we can twist scripture simply 40:10 because it is hard to understand. 40:14 We just make the very best application 40:16 we know how to. 40:18 What are complicated scriptures? 40:20 Well, that really depends on your education, 40:22 on your own interpretation, 40:24 on your own presuppositions 40:26 and your tradition from the past. 40:29 We could say some of these complicated scriptures 40:31 if we're within the Seventh-day Adventist community 40:34 might be Colossians 2 on the feast days, 40:36 the new moons and the Sabbath. 40:37 Might be Revelation 8 and 9 on the seven trumpets, 40:40 might be Daniel 11 on the identity of the king 40:44 of the north and the south. 40:46 Or it could be something 40:48 as simple as reading Romans Chapter 9. 40:50 And it says, Paul says, 40:52 "Jacob I have loved yet Esau, I hated." 40:56 So if you read that at face value, 40:58 you could say, "Wait a minute, 40:59 he loved one and didn't love the other?" 41:02 These are some of the scriptures 41:03 that require proper interpretation. 41:08 Let's look at seven keys to interpreting scripture. 41:13 Key number one, intention determines meaning. 41:19 If I were to write a letter to Grandma Tina, 41:20 who's sitting on the front row right here, 41:22 would the letter when she reads it, 41:25 does the letter mean 41:26 what I intended the letter to mean when I wrote it? 41:30 Or does it mean what she gets out of it when she reads it? 41:37 It is really both. 41:38 That's kind of a trick question. 41:40 But when you study the Word of God, 41:42 the interpretation must be based 41:44 on the author's intention of meaning, 41:48 not on the reader's understanding. 41:52 The text can't mean what it was never meant. 41:56 Unless you learn the intended meaning of the text writer, 42:00 you can't properly understand the Word of God. 42:02 So, number one, intention determines meaning. 42:06 Number two, context determines meaning. 42:10 Interpretation must be done 42:12 based on the context of the passage. 42:16 You think about that story that people always tell, 42:18 this man woke up in the morning 42:19 and his habit of studying the Word of God 42:21 was opening up and wherever the Bible fell, 42:23 that was his word for the day. 42:25 So we opened up the Word of God, 42:26 and it fell open and he read in Matthew 27 42:28 and Judas went out and hanged himself. 42:31 And he thought, "Surely, God, 42:33 that is not your word for me today." 42:35 So he closed the Bible and he opened it up again, 42:37 and it fell open to Luke 10. 42:38 And the Bible said, "Go, thou, and do likewise." 42:43 And he thought, "Surely, God, 42:44 that is not your word for me today." 42:46 So he tried it a third time. 42:48 And he opened up to John Chapter 13, where it says, 42:51 "What thou doest, do quickly." 42:53 Now, is that what God intended for him in the Word? 42:58 No. 42:59 Because context determines meaning. 43:02 You don't read one scripture and think you know 43:05 what the entire passage is all about. 43:08 Number three, understanding literal versus 43:12 symbolic interpretation determines meaning. 43:16 In other words, doing, interpret a particular passage 43:19 literally or symbolically. 43:24 We interpret the Bible literally 43:25 when it can be taken at face value. 43:27 Literal interpretation means 43:29 that the biblical text is to be interpreted 43:31 according to its plain meaning 43:33 conveyed by the grammatical construction 43:35 and historical context. 43:37 Martin Luther believed this, 43:39 John Calvin believed literal interpretation 43:42 of the Word of God, 43:43 but there's other places that are figurative or symbolic 43:48 and we have to know the difference between the two. 43:51 Number four, the genre of biblical literature 43:55 determines meaning. 43:57 The Bible contains many different types of literature, 43:59 does it not? 44:01 So you get the beginning, the first five books, 44:02 Genesis to Deuteronomy are the books of the law. 44:06 Then we have the 12 books of history 44:08 from Joshua to Nehemiah, 44:09 five books of wisdom and poetry. 44:12 Then 17 books of prophecy from Isaiah to Malachi. 44:17 Four books of the Gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, 44:19 a book of history with Acts. 44:21 And then 21 epistles. 44:24 And then we close with the book of prophecy. 44:26 So understanding the genre of biblical literature 44:30 makes a difference too. 44:31 Number five, other scriptures determine meaning. 44:34 In other words, you look at one scripture 44:37 and you read another scripture and you compare them. 44:42 Isaiah 28:10. 44:43 "For precept must be upon precept, 44:45 precept upon precept, 44:47 line upon line, line upon line," 44:49 we interpret scripture by looking at other scriptures. 44:54 Number six, the interpretation versus application 44:59 determines meaning. 45:02 Remember the story, Jesus with His disciples 45:04 and they watched all these highfalutin men come 45:07 and toss a measly coin, remember, 45:10 or something into the temple treasury? 45:12 And then the widow came with two mites 45:16 and she tossed that in. 45:17 Now what is our interpretation for today? 45:20 That we're supposed to give two mites in church? 45:21 No. 45:23 It's supposed, we are supposed to give sacrificially. 45:27 Amen. 45:29 We twist scripture by the traditions that we hold. 45:33 We twist scripture when we try to justify ourselves. 45:38 We twist scripture, sometimes 45:40 because there are some complicated passages 45:43 in the Word of God and we need to understand 45:45 a proper interpretation of scripture. 45:48 Finally, number four, 45:49 we twist scripture because of fear. 45:53 Now, you might say, 45:55 "What in the world do you mean by that, Jill?" 45:57 It can be hard to reconcile life 46:00 sometimes with scripture. 46:02 How do you explain the unexplainable? 46:06 I'll give you an example of what I mean. 46:09 Someone in your church, in your family, 46:12 in your community is diagnosed with cancer. 46:15 What do you do? 46:17 James 5, what does it say? 46:20 "The prayer of faith will save the sick 46:23 and the Lord will raise him up." 46:26 Call the elders, have an anointing. 46:30 But what if they're not healed? 46:36 Has someone ever come to you and said, 46:40 "If you only had more faith, 46:44 you would have been healed." 46:47 My mom, I started telling you 46:49 about her chronic medical condition, she has MS. 46:53 And you would not believe the number of people 46:55 who tell her, "If you only had faith, 46:57 God would heal you." 47:00 That is an example 47:01 of twisting scripture to destruction. 47:07 Now is that purposeful? No. 47:09 It's because of fear. 47:11 Because of lack of understanding, 47:13 how do we even explain the unexplainable? 47:17 What about this scripture? 47:18 Psalm 37, "Delight yourself in the Lord, 47:21 and He will give you the desire of your heart." 47:27 So what if you don't get the desire of your heart? 47:28 What does that mean? 47:30 Have you not delighted enough? 47:35 Psalm 127:3 says, 47:36 "Children are a heritage of the Lord 47:38 and the fruit of the womb is His reward." 47:41 And I remember someone coming up to me once 47:43 and said, "Well, God knew, Jill, 47:45 you wouldn't make good parents. 47:48 That's why He withheld children from you." 47:51 That's an example of twisting scripture 47:56 to your own destruction. 47:59 So what's the solution if you're engaged in fear? 48:02 This is a difficult subject and we could take a long time 48:05 which I don't have. 48:07 But I think the first thing is don't be afraid 48:10 of claiming Bible promises. 48:13 Amen. 48:16 2 Corinthians 1:20, 48:17 all of His promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. 48:22 Romans 4:17, "God who gives life to the dead, 48:26 and calls those things 48:27 that are not as though they already were." 48:30 We know God's promises are yes and amen. 48:32 We know every time He says, "I can give you a new heart," 48:36 He's gonna do it. 48:38 Every time He says, "I can break your addiction," 48:39 He's gonna do it. 48:41 Every time He says, "I can set you free," 48:43 He's going to do it, because that's what our God does. 48:48 In the midst of that there are times 48:53 when we live in the Great Controversy 48:57 and things happen in this world of sin 49:02 not because of Christ but because of sin. 49:08 Don't be afraid of claiming Bible promises. 49:10 Don't be afraid of an answer you don't like. 49:15 You know, I think there's four answers to prayer. 49:18 Number one, "No, I love you too much." 49:23 Now how could love even be a no? 49:24 Of course it can. 49:26 If you're a parent, you know that, 49:27 your child reaches out to the stove and goes to touch. 49:29 What would you say? "Don't touch!" 49:30 Is that because you don't love your child? 49:32 No! 49:33 Love is a no because you don't want them hurt 49:39 or you're trying to protect them. 49:42 First answer is "No, I love you too much." 49:44 Second answer is "No, not yet." 49:46 That means we're in a waiting time 49:48 for whatever the purpose is. 49:50 Next one is, "Yes, I thought you'd never ask." 49:54 I think God is waiting for us to call upon Him. 49:59 He's waiting for us to ask. 50:02 And finally, "Yes, and so much more." 50:06 Solutions for fear, 50:08 don't be afraid of claiming Bible promises, 50:09 don't be afraid of an answer you don't like, 50:11 don't be afraid of the Great Controversy. 50:15 Think about the Book of Job. 50:17 If you look at Job Chapter 1, 50:19 what do we see in Job Chapter 1? 50:22 We see Satan coming before God and saying what? 50:27 God says, "Have you considered my servant Job? 50:30 He's pure, he's upright, he's holy." 50:34 And Satan says, "Yeah, that's just because 50:36 you gave him a good ride," right? 50:38 That is a picture. 50:39 I love that God gave us that in the Bible 50:41 because we see a picture 50:43 of the Great Controversy at work, 50:46 that battle between good and evil. 50:49 We see that this life 50:51 is not all there is. 50:56 Do we serve God because He's Santa Claus, 50:58 giving us what we want? 50:59 Or do we serve Him because we love Him 51:04 because He is our father? 51:07 Amen. 51:11 She was a beautiful girl, blond hair, 51:16 peaches and cream complexion, gorgeous skin, 51:20 even white teeth. 51:22 She was an upperclassman in Academy. 51:24 I'll call her Grace. 51:28 I was, my first job out of college, 51:31 22 years old, teacher. 51:34 I didn't know what I was doing in the least. 51:39 And so, I just was busy, 51:43 caught up in the whirlwind of teaching for the first time. 51:47 I neglected to ask her about her heart 51:51 to see how she was doing. 51:53 She had it all together. 51:55 She looked beautiful, she seemed fine to me. 51:58 Several months later, we went on a retreat. 52:01 And she said, "Miss Jill, can I talk to you?" 52:04 And I said, "Yeah, sure." 52:06 She looked up at me 52:08 and I was really startled by the pain in her eyes. 52:11 Had it been there, I never noticed it before. 52:15 And I said, "Yeah, let's sit down over here," 52:17 and we sat down. 52:19 She had a sweatshirt on and all of a sudden that hit me 52:21 that I'd never seen her in her short sleeve shirt. 52:24 She always wore long sleeve. 52:30 And she pulled up her shirt 52:32 and I saw on her arm written 52:35 from the forearm to the hand. 52:43 Criss cross, 52:47 her arm cut 52:54 and my eyes filled with tears 52:55 and I said, "Grace, you've been cutting. 52:57 I didn't know." 52:59 And she turned her arm just a little more 53:03 and they weren't just random slashes in her skin. 53:07 She'd cut herself to spell two words. 53:11 "Help me." 53:16 And I thought of the months I had been busy and occupied 53:22 and had not taken time 53:25 to see the pain in this beautiful girl. 53:29 Who Satan 53:32 or her upbringing, 53:35 or some baggage and presupposition 53:41 or some misunderstanding 53:43 or misinterpretation of the Word of God 53:47 had put pain in her heart. 53:51 She came from a background 53:52 that had turned her 53:57 into what she was. 54:01 I don't know, in your heart and in your life, 54:06 if Satan has engaged 54:09 in some twisted destruction, 54:12 maybe it's in your life, maybe it's in your kids' lives 54:17 or the lives of someone in your family. 54:22 Maybe there's twisting, 54:24 Satan has told you lies that aren't even true. 54:28 Maybe he's twisted something 54:30 when you opened up the Word of God 54:32 and, and read and he twisted it. 54:36 You know what he says to us? 54:38 "Taste and see that the Lord is good." 54:42 God wants to reveal Himself to you. 54:47 God wants to take the lies of the enemy 54:50 that have been twisted in our own minds 54:53 and processed in our own hearts and He wants to untangle them. 54:59 Amen. 55:01 And He wants to set us free. 55:04 Do you want to be set free from those lies, 55:07 from that twisting? 55:09 Whether it is tradition that we've held on to something 55:12 from the past, 55:14 whether it is an experience in your life 55:16 of self-justification, somehow twisting that, 55:21 whether it is simply complexity or fear in your life. 55:26 God says, I want to set you free. 55:29 God, we come before You right now 55:31 because You are our Father. 55:37 And we love You. 55:39 Thank You that while we were still sinners, 55:43 You died for us. 55:45 Father, would You set us free 55:48 just now? 55:51 Untangle what's been twisted. 55:55 Thank You that You have promised 55:58 whoever the Son sets free will be free, indeed. 56:02 And we ask this in the precious name... |
Revised 2020-07-17