Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210029S
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00:01 Hi, I'm Shelley Quinn,
00:02 and we're so glad you're joining us 00:04 for this Sabbath School Panel. 00:05 We are studying in the Adult Bible Study Guide 00:10 that is called Rest in Christ, 00:12 we're on lesson number three, Roots of Restlessness. 00:16 And we hope you've got your Bible, the guide, 00:19 and a pen and paper to take notes. 00:21 If you don't already have your Adult Bible Study Guide, 00:25 you can go to ABSG.Adventist.org 00:30 and download it off. 00:32 Stay with us. 00:33 We've got some great Bible study coming up. 01:06 Oh, we're so glad you're with us. 01:08 And we've got a great study coming up. 01:11 I want to go ahead and introduce 01:13 the rest of your 3ABN family, my family. 01:17 Sitting here at the table, we have Pastor John Dinzey. 01:20 It's a blessing to be here. 01:21 Oh, we always enjoy it when you can join us. 01:24 And Pastor Kenny Shelton? 01:25 Always thankful for the opportunity. 01:27 And we thank you 01:29 for the time you invest in study. 01:31 And then my pastor, Pastor John Lomacang. 01:34 It's good to be in the spiritual trenches 01:36 with you. 01:37 Amen. 01:38 We'll come out alive. 01:40 Amen. 01:41 We've read the back of the book. 01:43 We know that, don't we? 01:44 And then my precious Sister Jill Morikone. 01:46 Jill, so good to have you here. 01:48 Thank you so much, Shelley, 01:49 privileged to open up the Word of God 01:50 and study with each one of you. 01:52 You know, I have to say, 01:53 and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, 01:55 sometimes I sit 01:57 and I'm listening to everybody's lesson, 01:58 I think, wow, we've got 02:00 some wonderful Bible students here. 02:03 And we hope that you are enjoying this 02:05 as much as we do. 02:07 What we'd like to do is start with a prayer. 02:10 Pastor Johnny, would you pray for us, please? 02:12 Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 02:15 Our loving Heavenly Father, 02:16 we are grateful to You for this great privilege 02:20 to be used by Your Holy Spirit, 02:22 we plea, we ask 02:24 that You will pour out Your Holy Spirit upon us, 02:26 that we may speak Your words. 02:28 And Heavenly Father, 02:30 we ask that You will also bless all those 02:32 that are listening, 02:33 so that they will understand Your message. 02:36 We thank You, Lord, for 3ABN 02:38 that can bring this message to the world. 02:40 And we pray that 02:41 You will bring fruit to Your name's honor and glory, 02:44 in Jesus' name, amen. 02:46 Amen. Amen. 02:48 Our memory text comes from James Chapter 3. 02:50 And in... Let me put this in context. 02:53 James is talking about two different kinds of wisdom, 02:56 the wisdom, the heavenly wisdom that comes from above 03:00 and the earthly wisdom, 03:03 and listen to what he talks about. 03:06 Earthly wisdom, it is tainted. 03:09 Our memory text is James 3:16, 03:12 "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist," 03:17 anytime you've got selfish ambition, jealousy, hypocrisy, 03:23 he says, 03:24 "there will be disorder 03:26 and every vile practice." 03:30 So these things can tribute to instability 03:35 and confusion and chaos. 03:37 This week study 03:39 we're going to discover the roots of restlessness. 03:44 And what we're talking about in restlessness 03:48 is when we don't find our rest in Christ. 03:53 The opening to this week's lesson 03:55 talks about Aspens. 03:57 Have you ever been to Colorado? 03:59 I love to listen to the Aspens, 04:01 the Aspens, they look like little silver dollars, 04:04 they're rustling in the wind. 04:06 These trees grow 45 to 90 feet tall, 04:10 which is 15 to 30 meters. 04:13 And they thrive in a cold environment 04:17 where there's sunshine. 04:18 Now they provide 04:20 great winter food for the animals 04:21 and then they have wood and matches and furniture 04:25 that are made from their trunks. 04:28 But this is interesting. 04:30 The Aspen has one of the largest root systems 04:34 of any plant in the world. 04:37 And what it does is it goes, 04:39 the roots go down deep 04:42 and it's a sucker system. 04:46 And they go really deep 04:48 and they colonize in a hurry 04:51 and they can live to 150 years old. 04:54 Well, I submit to you 04:56 that the roots of our restlessness 04:58 are like that. 05:00 Sometimes they had been passed down through generations, 05:02 but they are a sucker system, 05:04 that sucker sucks the spiritual life 05:07 right out of it. 05:09 Mercy. Yes. 05:10 Okay, Sunday's lesson, Jesus brings division. 05:13 Now, this is interesting. 05:15 In Isaiah 9:6, the Bible says, 05:19 "That a child is born unto us, 05:21 the government will be on His shoulder, 05:23 and He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, 05:29 Everlasting Father, Mighty God, 05:33 Prince of Peace." 05:36 Now, how can the Prince of Peace 05:40 bring division? 05:43 Jesus quotes from Micah 7. 05:48 And before we read Jesus, 05:49 I want to read it to you from Micah 05:51 just because it's one of my favorite passages. 05:54 Micah 7:6-9. 05:57 Micah writes, 05:59 "Son dishonors father, 06:00 daughter rises against her mother, 06:02 daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 06:04 a man's enemies are the men in his own household. 06:08 Therefore I will look to the Lord, 06:10 and I will wait for the God of my salvation, 06:13 my God will hear me." 06:17 Now I have to read the next 06:18 just 'cause you got to hear this. 06:21 It doesn't, I don't know that 06:22 this is really got a lot to do with a lesson. 06:24 But the next few verses, 06:26 Micah 7:8 is one of my, and 9 are my favorite verses. 06:30 He says, 06:31 "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, 06:33 when I fall, I will arise, 06:36 when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. 06:41 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, 06:43 because I have sinned against Him, 06:44 until He pleads my case 06:48 and executes justice for me. 06:50 He will bring me forth to the light, 06:53 and I will see His righteousness." 06:55 Interesting contrast there. 06:57 He's talking about the division, 07:00 and how sons against father, 07:03 daughter against daughter-in-law, 07:05 and then all of a sudden 07:06 he's talking about what God can do for us. 07:10 Well, Jesus in Matthew 10:34-36 07:14 is quoting from Micah 7. 07:17 So let's look at that. 07:19 Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-36, 07:23 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. 07:27 I did not come to bring peace but a sword." 07:32 Now let me stop right here, hit the pause button. 07:35 He's not talking about a literal sword. 07:39 This is symbolic. 07:40 A sword is symbolic of conflict and division. 07:46 And then he says in Matthew 10:35, 07:50 "For I have come to set," 07:52 and here's the quote, 07:53 "to 'set' a man against his father, 07:55 a daughter against her mother, 07:57 and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 08:01 and a man's enemies 08:02 will be those of his own household." 08:04 What? 08:05 The Prince of Peace, our, the Mighty God, 08:09 the Everlasting Father 08:10 is bringing this kind of division. 08:13 What He wants us to know is 08:17 sometimes a believer's life 08:20 will bring conflict in your own family. 08:24 The ultimate goal of the gospel, 08:28 our life with Christ is peace with God. 08:31 In John 14:27, Jesus said, 08:36 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, 08:39 not as the world gives do I give to you. 08:43 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 08:49 So when we find our rest in Christ, 08:52 no matter what is going on around, 08:55 we're going to have peace in our heart. 08:58 In Romans 5:1-2, Paul writes, 09:03 "Having been justified by faith, 09:05 we have peace with," whom? 09:08 "With god through our Lord Jesus Christ, 09:11 through whom also we have access by faith 09:16 into this grace in which we stand, 09:19 and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." 09:24 So, yes, the ultimate goal, 09:28 the ultimate end of the gospel is peace with God, 09:31 but the immediate results 09:35 of living a Christian life 09:37 sometimes strain our family relationships. 09:41 I have a friend who comes from generations of Catholics, 09:46 and when this friend started watching 3ABN, 09:49 when this friend found Bible truth, 09:52 and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 09:55 the family will have nothing to do with it. 09:58 Nothing. 10:00 But may I say this, 10:02 he said something to me and I believe this. 10:04 He said, 10:05 "My spiritual family is more important 10:08 than my biological family." 10:11 Now, in Matthew 10:35-39, 10:16 Jesus is talking about allegiances and loyalties. 10:21 Now He's gonna use three sentences. 10:24 And each one of them begin 10:27 or include this term worthy. 10:31 First of all, I wanted to say 10:32 worthiness is not based on our high moral standards. 10:37 Worthiness isn't even based on our overcoming sin. 10:41 Worthiness is based on our relationship with Jesus. 10:46 But now listen to what He says. 10:49 He says, He in Matthew 10:37, 10:53 "He who loves father or mother more than Me 10:56 is not worthy of Me." 10:58 Then He says, 11:00 "And he who loves son or daughter more than Me 11:04 is not worthy of Me." 11:06 We know that the Ten Commandments, 11:08 commandment number five, 11:09 "Honor your father and your mother 11:11 that your days may be long upon the earth." 11:13 We're supposed to love and honor our parents, 11:16 but not more than Jesus. 11:19 We've got to put Christ above everyone else, 11:23 above mother, father, 11:24 above our spouse, our children. 11:28 And here's what He says 11:31 in Matthew 10:38. 11:38 He says, 11:39 "Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me 11:44 is not worthy of Me." 11:47 You know, I hear people say all the time, 11:51 and it upsets me. 11:53 They'll say, "Oh, we all have our cross to bear." 11:57 Bless her heart. 11:58 She's got that drunken no good husband. 12:00 You know what? 12:01 That's not what Jesus was talking about. 12:03 Picking up our cross 12:05 is not about burying some burden. 12:08 Everyone who, with whom He spoke, 12:11 knew what it meant in his day. 12:14 To pick up the cross meant that you were about to be crucified. 12:19 So what Jesus is saying is, 12:23 you've got to surrender yourself, 12:26 life to me. 12:27 You need to yield to Me, to crucify self, 12:30 so that I may live in you. 12:33 Then if you don't pick up your cross and follow Me, 12:37 you're not worthy of Me. 12:39 Luke 9:23, He says, 12:41 "If anyone desires to come after Me, 12:43 let him deny himself, and take up his cross." 12:48 How often? Daily. 12:50 Oh, not just on Sabbath morning. 12:54 Not just on once a year or Christmas. 12:58 We're supposed to pick up our cross daily. 13:01 This is something. 13:03 In Galatians 2:20, I love what Paul says. 13:06 He says, 13:07 "I have been crucified with Christ. 13:09 It's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, 13:13 and the life in which I live in the flesh 13:16 is actually by the faith, 13:19 my faith in the Son of God, 13:21 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 13:24 It is beautiful. 13:26 As Paul said in Galatians 6:14, 13:30 "God forbid that I should boast in anything 13:33 except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, 13:37 by whom the world has been crucified to me, 13:42 and I to the world." 13:44 Let me ask you. 13:46 Has the world been crucified to you? 13:49 That's good. 13:51 Jesus said in Matthew 10:39, 13:53 "He who finds his life will lose it." 13:56 What's he saying? 13:57 He who finds his physiko, his self natural life, 14:00 he who chases after the things of this earth 14:04 is going to lose his soul life, 14:07 the higher spiritual life. 14:09 But he says he who loses 14:12 his natural self life for my sake, 14:14 will find it. 14:16 Life emptied of self 14:18 and poured out in service to Jesus 14:21 brings true joy. 14:22 That's true. Thank you, Sister Shelley. 14:24 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 14:26 For Monday's lesson, 14:28 the lesson has just one word for a title, 14:31 it is Selfishness. 14:33 And so we have to ask ourselves, 14:35 what is selfishness? 14:37 It comes from the word selfish. 14:38 And if you go online, you will find 14:40 or just grab a dictionary from your library, 14:42 you will find that 14:43 selfish means lacking consideration for others, 14:46 concerned chiefly 14:48 with one's own personal profit or pleasure. 14:53 And so, this is one of those sins 14:56 that has roots 14:58 that is, they can go very deep into a person's life 15:02 and also destroy that individual, 15:05 because that person is self, self, self 15:08 and thinks nothing of others. 15:10 Now consider that God said 15:12 that you must love the Lord your God 15:13 with all your heart, with all your mind, 15:15 with all your strength, all your soul, 15:17 and your neighbor as yourself. 15:19 So selfishness is contradictory 15:22 in contrast with God's way of doing things. 15:27 When you look at the word selfish, 15:28 and you add the suffix n-e-s-s, ness, 15:33 it means that you add to an adjective, 15:37 the n-e-s, and makes that adjective to a noun, 15:42 and meaning the quality or condition 15:44 or what the adjective expresses. 15:46 In other words, a person that becomes selfish, 15:50 has selfishness has become full of self 15:53 and thinks only of self 15:55 and looks at every possibility 15:58 of getting his or her way. 16:01 And so, this is a deadly, deadly sin, 16:05 and it must be eradicated, 16:06 and only Jesus can do that. 16:09 So Jesus stands at the door and knocks. 16:13 Now I want to read something that I found in Gospel Workers 16:16 that is rather stunning. 16:18 I'm going to read it to you just part of it. 16:20 "The hateful sin of selfishness exists to a great degree, 16:26 even in some who profess to be devoted 16:30 to the work of God. 16:32 If they would compare their character 16:34 with His requirements, 16:36 especially with the great standard, 16:38 His holy, just and good law, 16:40 they would ascertain, if earnest, honest searchers, 16:45 that they are fearfully wanting. 16:47 But some are not willing 16:48 to look far enough or deep enough 16:51 to see the depravity of their own hearts." 16:55 And we must do a thorough work of examining ourselves 16:59 and asking ourselves, am I in Christ. 17:03 And when we do this, 17:05 the Lord can open to us 17:07 the real necessity of our lives 17:10 that we need Jesus every moment, every moment. 17:14 Let's look into Luke 12:13-21. 17:17 Lesson brings out this aspect 17:20 of how selfishness was revealed. 17:24 In Luke Chapter 12, 17:26 beginning in verse 13, 17:28 "Then one from the crowd said to Him, 17:30 'Teacher, tell my brother 17:32 to divide the inheritance with me.' 17:35 But He said to him, 17:36 'Man, who made Me a judge 17:38 or an arbitrator over you?' 17:40 And He said to them, 17:41 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, 17:43 for one's life 17:45 does not consist in the abundance 17:47 of the things he possesses.' 17:49 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: 17:51 'The ground of a certain rich man 17:53 yielded plentifully. 17:55 And he thought within himself, saying, 17:57 'What shall I do, 17:59 since I have no room to store my crops?' 18:02 So he said, 'I will do this: 18:03 I will pull down my barns and build greater, 18:06 and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 18:11 And I will say to my soul, 18:12 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, 18:16 take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.' 18:19 But God said to him, 18:20 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you, 18:24 then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 18:29 'So is he who lays up treasure for himself, 18:32 and is not rich toward God.'" 18:35 So we see here that this individual, 18:37 having plenty, plenty and to spare, 18:41 instead of sharing with others, loving neighbor, 18:44 his neighbor as himself, 18:46 decided, I'm just gonna keep all this 18:47 and amass all this, 18:49 and I'm just going to take my ease 18:51 and enjoy life. 18:53 You see, the Bible points out in Matthew 6:33, 18:59 the blessing that we could have, 19:01 as it says there. 19:03 "But seek first the kingdom of God 19:05 and His righteousness, 19:07 and all these things 19:08 shall be added unto you." 19:10 There's another scripture 19:11 that I would like to bring out to you. 19:13 Wonderful. 19:14 Notice, Luke 6:38, 19:16 "Give, and it will be given to you: 19:20 good measure, pressed down, shaken together, 19:24 and running over will be put into your bosom. 19:28 For with the same measure that you use, 19:30 it will be measured back to you." 19:33 So you see, when God gives to you, 19:36 and you give to others, 19:38 you'd never run out, 19:39 because God continues to give to you. 19:42 And so, I encourage you to do things 19:45 according to God's way. 19:47 Now, this thing of selfishness must be dismissed, 19:50 must be done away with. 19:52 In Matthew 25:40, 19:55 I'm just gonna read the very last part to you, 19:57 and I believe you will understand 20:00 what I'm talking about. 20:02 "And the King will answer and say to them, 20:04 'Assuredly, I say to you, 20:06 inasmuch as you did it 20:07 to one of the least of these My brethren, 20:11 you did it to Me.'" 20:12 Now, this is the sum 20:13 of what Jesus said of those that presented, 20:16 will present themselves before Him. 20:19 Because Jesus said, 20:22 "I was hungry, and you fed Me. 20:24 I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink. 20:26 I was naked, and you gave Me something to put on." 20:29 And, Lord, when did we see you in this condition? 20:32 When you did it to the least of these, 20:34 you did it to Me. 20:35 That's right. 20:36 And the same thing, He will say to the wicked. 20:38 "I was naked, and you didn't clothed Me. 20:40 I was hungry, you didn't feed Me. 20:42 I was thirsty, 20:43 you didn't give Me any to drink?" 20:45 He will say the same thing to them, 20:46 Lord, when did we see you? 20:47 You didn't do it to them, you didn't do it to Me. 20:50 You see, when we do things for others, 20:52 we're doing it to Jesus. 20:54 When you prefer others before you, 20:56 you are preferring Jesus before yourself. 20:59 So this is something that we can learn from Jesus. 21:03 Notice Philippians Chapter 2, 21:06 even the very fact that 21:07 Jesus came down to this world shows, 21:11 humiliation shows 21:13 the way that we should behave ourselves. 21:15 Philippians Chapter 2, I just love these scriptures. 21:19 I'm going to begin in verse 3. 21:20 Notice, 21:21 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, 21:25 but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others 21:30 better than himself. 21:31 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, 21:35 but also for the interests of others. 21:38 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 21:44 who, being in the form of God, 21:47 did not consider it 21:48 robbery to be equal with God," 21:50 but notice, 21:51 "but made Himself of no reputation, 21:55 taking the form of a bondservant, 21:58 and coming in the likeness of men. 22:01 And being found in appearance as a man, 22:05 He humbled Himself 22:06 and became obedient to the point of death, 22:10 even the death of the cross." 22:13 So as we consider Jesus, how He humbled Himself. 22:16 Jesus went about doing good. 22:19 Jesus went about doing good to anyone. 22:23 And He said things that today you will find shocking. 22:27 He will say, "Hey, love your enemies." 22:30 But we have a situation in the church that is... 22:36 I'm going to use the word scary, dangerous, 22:39 because the sin of selfishness is one, 22:44 unfortunately, prevailing sins of the church. 22:49 That's right. How can this be? 22:51 The reason this happens is 22:53 because people are looking to self 22:56 instead of looking to Jesus. 22:58 Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. 23:02 And if we're spending time with Jesus, 23:03 yes, as Sister Shelley said wisely 23:06 and according to the scriptures, 23:08 that if Jesus is in us, 23:12 selfishness will not be in us. 23:14 So the solution to this is 23:17 to take up our cross daily 23:20 and follow Jesus, and you crucify self. 23:24 Satan is going to work hard 23:27 to lead us into selfish acts every single day. 23:32 So there's not a day, there's not an hour, 23:36 there's not a moment, 23:37 there's really not a second 23:40 when you don't need Jesus. 23:42 So I encourage you to give yourself 23:44 to Jesus completely, 23:45 because this is the only solution 23:48 to get selfishness out. 23:50 Jesus in, selfishness out. 23:52 That's right. 23:53 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 23:55 Yeah, you know, the thing about that is 23:57 we can't even crucify ourselves. 24:00 We need the Holy Spirit and by his power, 24:04 he will work in us to will and to do his good pleasure. 24:08 Amen. 24:09 We'll be back in just a moment. 24:11 Here's a quick message for you. 24:21 Ever wish you could watch 24:22 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:25 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:28 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 24:33 A clean design makes it easy 24:35 to find the program you're looking for. 24:37 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:41 so you can follow along. 24:43 Sharing is easy. 24:44 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:47 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:52 Now we will continue in with the Roots of Restlessness 24:56 with Pastor Kenny Shelton, 24:58 who's going to talk to us about ambition. 25:01 That's the title of this, Ambition. 25:03 And so you know, I think it's something 25:04 we need to look at very closely, 25:06 maybe in our own life, 25:07 even as a Christian, profess to be a Christian. 25:10 Sometime there are some things in there 25:12 as you know, Pastor John mentioned 25:13 in the previous lesson there about selfishness. 25:17 And here we got ambition. 25:18 And I had to ask myself this question, 25:21 is it okay to have a little bit of ambition? 25:26 You know, a little bit of ambition. 25:27 Some of you say, no, it's really not or, 25:29 you know, there's a time when it comes along, 25:32 did you have too much ambition? 25:34 Is it possible that one is okay, 25:36 and is it possible one might lead to sin 25:38 and division, separation? 25:40 If you look at ambition, it's a... 25:43 Listen, the word ambition, 25:44 it's a strong desire for success. 25:50 If you say, ambitious, that person is ambitious, 25:54 you're talking about greatly, greatly desiring something. 25:58 So I kind of look at the two different words, 25:59 I'm saying, you know, 26:01 I need to greatly desire Christ, 26:03 heaven to be my home. 26:04 So I just look and kind of balance this out. 26:06 But disciples here in this lesson 26:08 had a real problem. 26:09 And I've looked at those problems, 26:11 and I've addressed them in my own life, 26:12 and I'm still praying about them. 26:13 I hope that you are too. 26:15 We're looking at the last week of Christ's ministry 26:18 on lesson here, Tuesday's lesson, Ambition. 26:22 And as I look at the last scenes, 26:24 the last few days of Christ's ministry, 26:26 I see something very important. 26:28 I still see those who were closest to Him, 26:32 haggling, discussing, 26:35 we won't say argue at all. 26:37 You know, as a Christian, we don't argue, right? 26:38 We don't argue Scripture. 26:40 But you know, discussing the Scripture 26:42 or discussing a question 26:44 that's found in Luke Chapter 22 and certainly verse 24. 26:48 And the argument or the discussion was over, 26:50 who's the greatest? 26:52 Yeah. Who's going to be the greatest? 26:53 Remember, this is occasion 26:55 just not long before Jesus is going to leave them 26:58 in the crucifixion, 26:59 and surely by now, 27:02 after these years, they've got it right. 27:04 As some of us, I've been in the church for a long time. 27:06 I've got it right. 27:08 Well, make sure you have it right. 27:09 You know, we need to make sure 27:11 because disciples thought they had it right. 27:13 Somehow the disciples got sidetracked. 27:15 In this lesson it brings out they've got sidetracked 27:18 over the issue, because they were very concerned 27:20 about who might be the, you know, the greatest, 27:25 maybe human greatness. 27:26 Some people want to be great in human, 27:28 humanistic things. 27:30 Disciples had many contest just like this, 27:33 or discussions about 27:36 who was going to be the greatest. 27:37 Where would they end up? 27:39 Even God, I think wouldn't have gotten mom involved. 27:41 You know, who's gonna be the greatest, you know. 27:42 So sometimes we won't get mom and God, 27:44 you know, involved 'cause she carries 27:45 a little bit of weight. 27:47 But remember, this was before the Spirit of the Living God 27:49 was poured out on the disciples. 27:51 When the Spirit, 27:53 the real Spirit of the Living God came, 27:54 there was some changes in their life, 27:56 they were no longer the same. 27:58 And I can say that for you or maybe for me in my own life. 28:02 When the Spirit of God gets a hold of us, 28:04 we're not the same as we used to be. 28:07 Right, old things are passed away, 28:08 behold all things that become new. 28:10 You know, I still maybe struggle with that. 28:12 Maybe you still fight some of the old battles, 28:14 but you know what you should be doing 28:16 and, you know, the powers? 28:17 There's a question, 28:19 who really openly talks about who's the greatest? 28:24 Did you get it, in the church? 28:27 Let's say in the home, husband, or wife, 28:30 or family, or at work. 28:32 You don't go to work and say, well, so and so is great. 28:34 You know, the boss might be listening, 28:36 who's the greatest? 28:37 That might be a time we need, we might have thoughts, 28:39 but we need to kind of keep them to ourselves. 28:40 And these are called silences. 28:42 You know, it's kind of golden right here this, 28:44 but the question has to be addressed, 28:45 and it was addressed in Revelation Chapter 8, 28:47 or Matthew 18:1, 28:50 where disciples were talking about this thing, 28:52 but notice, they were talking, 28:54 read all of it, if you had the opportunity to do it. 28:56 They were talking about this situation, 28:57 and I want to call it an abstract way. 29:00 They were talking about it in a... 29:02 They're gonna summarize it, 29:04 they're not going to get into big, 29:05 you know, big discussion about it right now. 29:06 They kind of thought maybe, oh, be careful. 29:08 They might fool Jesus just a little bit here, 29:10 maybe get a different answer 29:12 than what maybe they were, 29:13 you know, they were looking for an answer for sure. 29:15 But Jesus looks around and He 29:17 and right quick he grasped like he always did, 29:19 I thank God for that. 29:21 He met head-ons, what I like about it, 29:23 you know, he didn't fool around about it. 29:25 When he hit air 29:27 and when the lives were on the line, 29:29 we have to be pointed sometime in straight. 29:31 You do it naturally with love, and you're concerned about it, 29:34 or you wouldn't meet it head-on. 29:35 And so, what did he do? 29:37 Matthew 18:1, it says, it poses a question, 29:39 who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven 29:41 is what we've been talking about. 29:43 Verse 2 said, 29:44 "Jesus called a little child to him 29:47 and set him in the midst of them," 29:48 verse 3, and said, 29:50 'Verily, I say unto you, except you be converted, 29:55 and become as little children, 29:56 you shall not enter the kingdom of God." 29:58 These are some of the most powerful words in Scripture. 30:02 When He calls the child in there among adults, 30:04 and says you're gonna have to be become like 30:06 one of these little one, you're thinking, 30:08 oh, man, surely not like whatever. 30:11 Jesus addressed the humility issue, 30:14 the pride issue that was going on with. 30:17 He didn't address a lot of other things 30:18 that He could have, He could have went on for hours. 30:19 He didn't do that. 30:21 He addressed the situation right there 30:23 were presented before Him. 30:24 And, you know, as far as their thinking was concerned, 30:28 huh, they weren't thinking about anything 30:31 right then and there, 30:32 except they're dreaming about who's going to be the greatest, 30:34 who's going to have the most power. 30:36 And, you know, Jesus said, 30:39 you know, I'm bringing these children in here, 30:40 and I want you to pay attention to them, 30:43 you know, but there's a lot of people 30:44 who are looking for success even in the Christian world. 30:47 And someone mentioned 30:49 maybe in one of the prior lessons or whatever. 30:50 They said, 30:52 "Most of the time, we're looking for the crown." 30:54 You see, I'm looking for the finished product here. 30:56 But you know, 30:58 but sometimes I forget about the yoke, 31:00 and I forget about the cross. 31:02 I forget what's before the crown. 31:05 I want the crown, see, and so we look at the crown, 31:07 we focus on it, 31:09 but we sometimes don't talk too much 31:10 about all the stuff that goes along with that. 31:12 Jesus put a child in the midst of them, 31:14 so they might learn of this child. 31:18 Grown man beholding the child, 31:21 conceiving instructions from a child? 31:23 Oh, surely not. 31:24 But Jesus said, "Oh, yes." 31:26 So what did Jesus recognizes and require of us 31:29 before heaven can be our home. 31:32 It's very, very simple. 31:33 He's requiring of you, He's requiring of me, 31:34 He said, You must be converted. 31:36 Man, that to meet conversion means a change, 31:38 that means a new mind, that means a new thought 31:40 or that means everything becomes new, 31:43 the old things are passed away. 31:44 Secondly, 31:46 He said you have to be become as little children. 31:49 I need the converting grace of Jesus Christ 31:52 in my life daily. 31:53 I need it. Amen. 31:55 And I'm thankful that God is willing to, 31:57 you know, I say, when I say pass out 31:59 this grace as needed. 32:01 It's an abundant supply of it. 32:03 Now when you say that be as a little child, 32:05 people say, oh, be a little child, 32:06 I'm gonna make it, no big problem. 32:07 But you know, Jesus said not, 32:10 and I'll say this in a respectful way, 32:11 not as a foolish child, 32:12 is one who is inexperienced, 32:14 so they don't have the experience of life. 32:15 You read that in 1 Corinthians 14:20, 32:18 and not as the foolish as a child, 32:20 again uneducated, maybe just small yet. 32:22 Ephesians 4:4, 32:24 not playful as a child there in Ephesians 11:16, 32:28 but as children we must desire, 32:30 I like this, the sincere milk of the word. 32:33 It's good. 32:34 You know, how many of us really want sincere milk of the word. 32:36 I want the milk of the word. 32:38 You know, again, talking about a child here. 32:39 We must begin on the milk 32:41 when I'm talking about, 32:42 now somebody pass out the meat. 32:44 All right. 32:45 Sometime we need the meat of the word. 32:47 Those who have been in the church 32:49 ever learning never come to the knowledge 32:50 right of the truth. 32:51 Maybe they're not getting any meat of the word. 32:53 So we need that too. 32:54 But notice, real conversion to me 32:56 is the foundation for finding a true, 33:01 a true rest in Jesus Christ as these lessons bringing out. 33:04 Right, the real foundation, dig deep in the Word of God, 33:08 not surface diggers at all. 33:10 Here's some effects of it. 33:11 Quickly, I want to get this in before we close with it. 33:14 Christ's Object Lesson, page 98, 99. 33:16 I love Christ's Object Lesson, I pray that you'll love it too. 33:19 Some real lessons, we can learn there. 33:20 Effects of evidences of conversion. 33:23 Notice what it says, 33:24 "The leaven hidden in the flour works invisibly 33:28 to bring the whole mass under the leavening process," 33:32 so the leaves of truth, notice it or the 33:34 "leaven of truth 33:35 works secretly, and silently, 33:38 notice it, steadily, to transform the soul." 33:42 The natural inclinations, here we go again, 33:44 "The natural inclinations, 33:46 notice, the new motives, new feelings are implanted. 33:50 A new standard of character," 33:52 I love this, I need that, 33:53 "is set up the life of Christ. 33:57 The mind is changed to where we have now," what? 34:00 "The mind of Christ." 34:02 No longer I that live by, but Christ who lives in me. 34:04 See, I sense it, 34:06 I know each one of does here, and I pray that you do at home. 34:08 We have to sense that every day of our life, 34:10 I need the life of Christ. I need Him every day. 34:14 If we don't, we're going to fail. 34:15 We're going to fall short. 34:18 And sad to say after years, years, I could say that, 34:22 you know, disciples being with Jesus 34:23 and maybe you and maybe me too, 34:25 hearing and learning and watching Him 34:28 and enjoying the fellowship with Him. 34:31 He simply said to His people right then and there, 34:33 you must be born again. 34:35 Oh, that's heavy duty, you must be born again. 34:38 We must keep focused on Christ. 34:40 That must be our focus today, right? 34:43 We need His power. We need His wisdom. 34:45 We need His victories. 34:46 And make sure maybe today by God's grace today, 34:48 make sure your ambition 34:51 and my ambition is to make heaven my home. 34:55 I want nothing to come in between that. 34:57 And God said what? 34:58 He's going to prepare the way, so be ready. 35:00 Ambitious, I'm ambitious for heaven. 35:03 Wow. Amen. 35:04 That was an ambitious presentation. 35:07 Thank you so much, Pastor Kenny. 35:09 Never boring, 35:10 always got fire shut up in his bones. 35:13 Thank you for that. 35:14 Mine is on Hypocrisy. What a topic. 35:16 When I studied this, 35:18 I thought, okay, Lord, I could hear the file. 35:20 I could hear the chainsaw. 35:21 I could hear the hammer, the chisel, 35:23 'cause sometimes those things come up in us. 35:26 And we as preachers 35:28 sometimes fall into that category by default, 35:32 when we preach enthusiastically or ambitious, 35:35 and we fail to recognize, 35:37 hey, why don't you sit in the seat 35:39 and listen to yourself preach. 35:40 Oh, mercy. 35:41 And so this really opened my eyes 35:43 to some things that I said, 35:44 "Okay, Lord, help me, get me ready for the kingdom." 35:46 Let me just define hypocrisy. 35:48 Hypocrisy is some 35:49 or hypocrite is someone who play-acts, 35:53 who wants to appear to be somebody 35:55 whom he or she is not. 35:58 The term is used seven times in Matthew 23. 36:01 In a discourse in which Jesus publicly shames 36:05 the scribes and Pharisees, 36:08 the very center of Jewish religious leadership. 36:12 The gospel shows us Jesus offering grace 36:14 and forgiveness to adulterers, 36:16 tax collectors, prostitutes, and even murderers. 36:20 But He demonstrated 36:21 little compassion for hypocrites. 36:23 And I thought, 36:25 "Honey, I need to do a seminar on hypocrisy." 36:26 We see that sin will condemn you, 36:28 but hypocrisy is something 36:30 that is not even a conscious sin. 36:32 It's an amazing thing. 36:34 Matthew 23:1-13, 36:35 I'll read through that very quickly, 36:37 and I have seven takeaways. 36:38 All right. 36:40 Start in Matthew 23:1, 36:41 "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes 36:43 and to His disciples, saying: 36:45 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 36:48 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, 36:52 that observe and do, 36:55 but do not do according to their works, 36:57 for they say, and do not do. 37:00 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, 37:02 and lay them on men's shoulders, 37:04 but they themselves will not move them 37:06 with one of their fingers. 37:07 But all their works they do to be seen by men. 37:12 They make their phylacteries broad," 37:15 that's the dressing on their arm garments, 37:19 "and they enlarge the borders of their garments. 37:22 They love the best seats or the best places at feasts, 37:26 the best seats in the synagogue, 37:29 greetings in the marketplace, 37:31 and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' 37:34 But you, do not be called 'Rabbi,' 37:38 for One is your Teacher, the Christ, 37:42 and you are all brethren. 37:44 Do not call anyone on earth your father," 37:46 and that's the context of it, 37:49 "for one is your Father, He who is in heaven. 37:52 And do not be called teachers, 37:54 for one is your Teacher, the Christ. 37:56 But he who is greatest among you 37:57 shall be your servants. 37:59 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, 38:01 and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 38:04 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 38:07 For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, 38:10 for you neither go in yourselves, 38:13 nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. '" 38:16 Wow! 38:18 Well, I looked at Pharisees in the lesson, 38:20 the lesson, right? 38:21 I need to say this ahead of time. 38:22 The writers in the lesson 38:24 pointed out the Pharisees and Sadducees. 38:25 And they identified, 38:27 here's their definition of Pharisees. 38:29 They said, "The Pharisees represents 38:30 the conservative religious right." 38:33 That's in the lesson. 38:35 They said, it represents 38:36 the conservative religious right. 38:38 They were interested in the written and oral law, 38:41 and emphasize ritual purity. 38:43 And here's what they pointed out 38:44 in harmony with that. 38:46 Matthew 5:20, 38:47 "For I say to you, 38:49 that unless your righteousness exceeds 38:50 the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, 38:53 you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." 38:55 And they pointed out four things 38:57 that were very prominent in the life of the Pharisee. 39:00 Pharisees tell you what to do, 39:03 that they're not willing to do. 39:05 They make religion difficult for you, 39:07 but easy for themselves. 39:09 They boast about their works 39:10 for all, for all to take notice. 39:13 They lavish themselves with religious garments, 39:16 but not holy lives. 39:18 Those are the Pharisees pointed out in the lesson. 39:21 And they said the Sadducees represent the liberal left. 39:23 It's amazing. 39:25 They put them both in categories. 39:26 A group of mostly wealthy leaders 39:28 often associated with elite priestly class. 39:31 They were highly Hellenized, 39:34 they spoke Greek 39:35 and were at home in Greek philosophy, 39:37 and did not believe in a judgment 39:39 or an afterlife. 39:41 And then they said in Acts 23:8, 39:44 "For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, 39:47 and no angel or spirit, 39:49 but the Pharisees confess both." 39:51 And you may remember 39:52 when Paul was in a predicament once, 39:54 he used the Pharisees against the Sadducees 39:56 to get himself off the hook. 39:57 You got to know how to do that. 39:59 That's very classic, classic element. 40:01 Let's go ahead and look at the remedies of hypocrisy. 40:03 First one, Matthew 6:3-4, 40:06 don't boast about what you do for others. 40:10 Matthew 6:3, 40:12 "But when you do a charitable deed, 40:13 do not let your left hand know 40:15 what your right hand is doing, 40:17 that your charitable deed may be in secret, 40:20 and your Father who sees in secret 40:22 will Himself reward you openly." 40:24 Don't tell everybody what you did 40:26 for this person and that person 40:27 because the Lord says, you already got your reward. 40:29 I don't have to give you anything. 40:31 Don't boast about what you do for others. 40:33 Number two, don't pray for self exaltation. 40:36 Some people pray, 40:38 their introduction is nine minutes long, 40:39 and their prayer is one minute. 40:41 I've seen people recite the Bible. 40:43 If Peter had done that, he'd have drowned. 40:45 Get to the point sometimes. 40:48 Matthew 6:5-6, 40:50 "And when you pray, 40:51 you shall not be like the hypocrites. 40:53 For they love to pray standing in the synagogues 40:55 and on the corners of the streets, 40:57 that they may be seen by men. 40:58 Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 41:01 But you, when you pray, go into your room, 41:03 and when you have shut the door, 41:05 pray to your Father who is in the secret place, 41:07 and your Father who sees in secret 41:09 will reward you," how? 41:11 "Openly." Yes. 41:12 Don't pray for self exaltation. 41:15 Number three, 41:16 don't make salvation seem impossible for others. 41:18 It's good. 41:20 I cannot stand these ministries 41:21 that all they have is a negative message. 41:24 They go, they side 3ABN and Hope Channel, 41:27 and Doug Batchelor and all these other leaders, 41:29 and all they do is put their sermons 41:30 and tear them down. 41:32 And I say, "Who would want to join a movement like that?" 41:35 And sadly enough, 41:36 a lot of people pay for that kind of thing. 41:38 Don't make salvation seem impossible for others. 41:41 Matthew 23:13, 41:43 " But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 41:45 For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, 41:47 for you neither go in yourselves, 41:50 nor do you allow those 41:53 who are entering to go in." 41:56 They'll give you all the reasons 41:57 why you shouldn't listen to 3ABN. 41:59 That's right. 42:01 And Christ will never be uplifted in their sermons. 42:03 If you're not uplifting Christ, don't even open your mouth, 42:06 because nobody will be drawn to a saving relationship 42:10 when you are negative. 42:12 That was number what? 42:13 That was number... Three or four. 42:15 Number four. 42:16 Don't praise your obligation to God 42:17 while ignoring the more important things. 42:20 Matthew 23:23, 42:22 " Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 42:24 For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, 42:28 and have neglected 42:29 the weightier matters of the law: 42:31 justice and mercy and faith." 42:32 Now watch this. 42:33 "These you ought to have done, 42:36 without leaving the others undone." 42:38 Justice and mercy 42:39 does not get rid of the obligation 42:41 of paying tithes and offering, 42:43 but don't make that your boast 42:44 and you be unmerciful and unjust to people 42:47 that need the mercy and justice of Christ. 42:50 Number five, don't minimize others faults. 42:55 Don't maximize others faults, while minimizing yours. 42:58 That's good. 43:00 Matthew 23:24, 43:01 "Blind guides, " 43:03 that's another way of saying hypocrites, 43:04 "you strain out a gnat and," what else? 43:07 "Swallow a camel." 43:10 I had to pull somebody aside once and say 43:12 you know, you're a Christian. 43:13 More specifically, 43:14 you're a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, 43:16 not that the Christian obligation 43:17 is different for you than other Christians. 43:19 But if you can't say anything positive 43:21 about people in church, 43:22 don't say anything at all. 43:23 That's good. 43:25 Because there's some people that all you have to do is 43:26 just whisper one word. 43:28 And if a fire starts, before you know it, 43:30 that person is burned to the ground, 43:32 you see there are ashes everywhere, 43:33 and they have no idea 43:35 that they are the subject of somebody's of criticism. 43:38 Brethren, criticism should never be named 43:41 among those who named the name of Christ. 43:43 Because the thing that you criticize the most, 43:45 the Bible says, 43:46 it's a plank in your eye 43:48 and a splinter in your other brother's eye. 43:50 Mercy. 43:51 So don't maximize others faults and minimize your own. 43:54 Number six, focus on your internal condition, 43:57 not just on your external appearance. 43:59 Matthew 23:25, 44:02 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, and hypocrites! 44:04 For you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, 44:07 but inside they are full of extortion 44:09 and self-indulgence. 44:11 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 44:13 For you are like whitewashed tombs 44:15 which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, 44:17 but inside are full of dead men's bones 44:19 and all uncleanness." 44:22 What a rebuke of hypocrisy Jesus put down. 44:24 Number seven, 44:26 don't sound religious while ignoring obedience. 44:29 Don't sound religious while ignoring obedience. 44:31 Matthew 15:7-9, 44:33 "Hypocrites! 44:35 Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 44:38 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, 44:40 honor Me with their lips, 44:42 but their hearts are far from Me. 44:44 In vain they worship Me, 44:45 teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" 44:49 Don't put aside God's requirements 44:52 by and just sound religious, 44:54 that's popular in this generation. 44:56 So I end with the remedy for hypocrisy. 44:59 2 Corinthians 13:5, 45:01 "Examine yourselves 45:03 as to whether you are in the faith. 45:05 Test yourselves. 45:07 Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? 45:10 Unless indeed you are disqualified." 45:12 Jill? Amen. 45:14 Thank you, Pastor John. 45:16 We could go another 10 minutes 45:17 and we could morph this into a sermon. 45:19 That was powerful. That was really good, Pastor. 45:22 On Thursday, we have Uprooting Restlessness. 45:26 How do we uproot restlessness? 45:28 How do we uproot selfishness, and pride, and ambition, 45:31 and jealousy, and hypocrisy? 45:33 Each one of these pastors have already shared 45:36 the keys and ways to uproot restlessness, 45:39 their particular sin that they were addressing, 45:42 but we're going to look at six keys, Pastor John. 45:44 Okay. And how we find rest? 45:46 How do we uproot that restlessness? 45:49 And the bottom line key is Jesus. 45:52 Amen. 45:53 John 14:1-6, 45:55 "Let not your heart be troubled, 45:57 you believe in God, believe also in Me. 45:59 In My Father's house are many mansions, 46:01 if it were not so, I would have told you. 46:04 I go to prepare a place for you. 46:06 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 46:08 I will come again 46:10 and receive you to Myself, 46:12 that where I am, there you may be also. 46:15 And where I go you know, and the way you know. 46:18 Thomas said to Him, 46:19 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, 46:22 how can we know the way?' 46:24 Jesus said, 46:25 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. 46:29 No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" 46:34 Are you restless? Find rest in your Redeemer. 46:39 You feel like a failure? 46:40 Find faith in your Father and in His Word. 46:45 Are you discouraged or downhearted? 46:47 Find delight in your Deliverer. 46:50 Do you feel haughty? 46:52 Find humility through His Spirit. 46:56 Are you lonely or lost? 46:58 Find love in your Lord. 47:00 Are you burdened with sin? 47:03 Find a solace in your Savior. 47:06 So the six keys to uprooting restlessness, 47:09 they all start with R, 47:11 it is recognize, repent, receive, 47:14 respond, reexamine and realize, so let's look at them. 47:17 Key number one. 47:19 Recognize that He, that's Jesus, 47:21 is the only solution. 47:22 He's the only hope, the only option. 47:24 We just read this scripture. 47:26 John 14:6, Jesus said, 47:28 "I'm the way, the truth, the life. 47:31 No one comes to the Father except through Me." 47:34 Our only option is Jesus. 47:37 The sooner you and I stop trying 47:39 to uproot restlessness, 47:41 the sooner we stop trying to be ambitious, 47:44 the sooner we stop trying 47:45 in our own strength not to be hypocritical, 47:48 not to be selfish, 47:49 not to be prideful or arrogant, 47:52 the sooner we have victory. 47:54 Because we don't look at ourselves, 47:57 we focus our attention on Jesus. 48:00 Recognize that we cannot uproot anything. 48:03 We can't pull sin out of our lives. 48:06 Jesus is the only one 48:07 who can uproot sin from our lives. 48:10 Recognize He's the only solution, 48:12 He's the only way out. 48:13 Key number two. 48:15 Repent and ask for forgiveness and cleansing. 48:19 You see, we don't even recognize our... 48:21 We don't, we can't repent 48:23 without first recognizing that He's our Savior. 48:26 He is the solution, then we repent. 48:29 1 John 1:9. 48:31 It reminds me of Molly Sue. 48:33 She always would quote that on Sabbath School Panel. 48:36 "If we confess our sins, 48:39 He is faithful 48:40 and just to forgive us our sins, 48:42 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 48:46 So it's the two part, I love that. 48:48 He forgives, but He doesn't just leave us there. 48:50 He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 48:54 Key number three. 48:56 Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 48:59 You want victory in your life. 49:01 Do you want to uproot selfishness, and pride, 49:03 and ambition, and hypocrisy, and jealousy, 49:07 and all of those evil things, unforgiveness and bitterness? 49:10 Do you want to uproot that from your life? 49:12 Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 49:15 Luke 11:13. 49:17 Jesus says, 49:19 "If you then, being evil, 49:20 know how to give good gifts to your children, 49:23 how much more will your heavenly Father 49:26 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!" 49:29 So the spirit is freely given, all you have to do is ask. 49:32 Come before Jesus and say, 49:34 "I want, I need, 49:36 I covet the gift of the Holy Spirit. 49:39 Would you give me the gift of the Holy Spirit? 49:42 And you know what? He will. 49:44 The Holy Spirit gives us power for evangelism. 49:47 I think of Acts 1:8, 49:49 " You shall receive power 49:51 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 49:53 and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, 49:56 and in Judea and in Samaria, 49:58 and to the uttermost parts of the earth." 50:01 The Holy Spirit gives us power for evangelism. 50:04 The Holy Spirit gives us power to obey. 50:08 Ezekiel 36:27, I love this passage, 50:11 all about the new heart. 50:13 Ezekiel 36:27, he says, 50:15 "I will put My Spirit on you 50:17 and cause you to walk in My statutes, 50:21 and you will keep My judgments and do them." 50:23 How do we walk in His statutes? 50:24 How do we keep His judgments? 50:26 How do we walk in obedience to the law of God? 50:30 It is through the power of the Holy Spirit 50:32 that God gives us, it is a gift. 50:35 The Spirit gives us power over our fleshly nature. 50:40 Romans 8:13, 50:42 "If you live according to the flesh 50:43 you're gonna die, 50:45 but if by the power of the spirit 50:48 you put to death the deeds of the body, 50:50 you will live." 50:52 Do you want victory over the fleshly nature? 50:55 The Holy Spirit will give you power over that. 50:58 The Holy Spirit enables us 51:00 to receive even the love of God. 51:03 Romans 5:5, 51:04 "Hope does not disappoint, 51:05 because the love of God has been shed abroad 51:08 or poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit 51:11 who was given to us." 51:13 We can't even receive the love of God 51:16 without the gift of the Holy Spirit. 51:19 Key number one, we recognize that 51:21 He, Jesus is the only solution. 51:23 Number two, we repent 51:24 and ask for forgiveness and cleansing. 51:26 Number three, 51:27 we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 51:30 Number four, we respond in faith. 51:34 1 John 5:4, 51:36 "This is the victory that has overcome the world, 51:40 even our faith." 51:42 You see, faith reaches out and claims God's promises. 51:46 Faith reaches out and claims God's power. 51:49 Faith enables you and I to walk in victory. 51:53 We can have the gift of the Holy Spirit. 51:54 We can be looking at Jesus, 51:56 we can have repented of those sins. 51:58 But if we don't reach out by faith, 52:01 and lay hold of the promises in His Word, 52:04 lay hold of that promise 52:05 that He will grant us the Holy Spirit. 52:07 It means nothing. 52:09 You and I need to reach out and respond by faith. 52:11 And you might say, 52:12 "But, Jill, I don't have any faith." 52:14 To each man is given a measure of faith. 52:16 We all have one little itsy bitsy 52:19 mustard seed of faith. 52:22 And faith, it grows by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 52:25 So spend time in the Word 52:26 and your faith will begin to grow. 52:28 Key number five, 52:30 Pastor John already alluded to this 52:32 and read this verse, 52:34 but we're going to read it again, 52:35 is reexamine your own heart. 52:39 Key number five, reexamine your own heart. 52:41 2 Corinthians 13:5, 52:43 "Examine yourselves 52:44 as to whether you are in the faith. 52:47 Test or prove yourselves. 52:49 Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? 52:52 Unless indeed you are disqualified." 52:55 You see, we're called to examine ourselves. 52:57 I'm not called to examine Pastor John. 52:59 I'm not called to examine Pastor Kenny 53:00 or Pastor Johnny or you at home. 53:03 I am called to examine myself. 53:07 Our walk with Jesus is personal and intimate. 53:12 And us in Jesus, 53:13 it's not between us and someone else. 53:15 It's between us and Jesus. 53:17 Psalm 139:23-24. 53:19 It says, "Search me, O God," 53:21 that word in Hebrew means intimately examine. 53:25 God, would You examine the recesses of my heart? 53:28 "Know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts, 53:30 and see if there is any wicked way in me, 53:33 and lead me in the way everlasting." 53:35 I always pray God, 53:37 not see is there any wicked way because I know it's there. 53:39 I just say, God revealed to me 53:42 those areas in my heart 53:44 that you want to clean up. 53:45 And you know what? He's going to do that. 53:47 Key number six. 53:48 Rely on Jesus 53:51 to finish and perfect the work He began in your life. 53:55 Philippians 1:6, 53:56 "Being confident of this very thing, 53:59 that He who begun a good work in you 54:01 will carry it forward to completion 54:03 until the day of Jesus Christ." 54:06 Let him finish the work He began in your life. 54:09 Don't begin with Him 54:11 and then pull yourself out of His arms 54:12 and say, I got it now. 54:14 I'm going to do it my own way. 54:16 Let Him finish the work He began. 54:19 I want to close with a quote actually from Ellen White. 54:21 This is from Early Writings. 54:23 I love this, 54:24 especially we're talking about uprooting restlessness. 54:27 It's Early Writings, page 119. 54:30 "In dealing with issues between church members, 54:33 conversation has been protracted for hours 54:36 between the parties concerned, 54:38 and not only has their time been wasted, 54:40 but the servants of God are held to listen to them, 54:43 when the hearts of both parties are unsubdued by grace." 54:47 This next sentence is the key. 54:50 "If pride and selfishness were laid aside, 54:55 five minutes would remove most difficulties." 54:59 Do you have odd with a brother and sister? 55:02 Do you see restlessness, pride, ambition, selfishness, 55:06 all of that in someone else's heart in life 55:08 and you have angst with them? 55:10 Five minutes, 55:11 if the Lord, you'll allow the Lord 55:13 to remove the pride and selfishness 55:14 from your heart and the other person, 55:16 five minutes would remove most difficulties. 55:18 Praise God. Amen. 55:20 Praise the Lord. I love that quote. 55:22 And I love this lesson. 55:24 Thank you each one of you. 55:26 Let's just take a moment 55:27 and you'll each just give us a little, 55:30 a thought from your day. 55:31 Thank you very much. 55:33 Selfishness, Monday's part. 55:35 I like to read this 55:36 from Christ's Object Lessons, page. 259 which says, 55:39 "To live for self is to perish. 55:42 Covetousness, the desire of benefit for self's sake, 55:46 cuts the soul off from life. 55:49 It is the spirit of Satan to get, to draw to self. 55:52 It is the spirit of Christ 55:54 to give, and to sacrifice self for the good of others." 55:58 Amen. 55:59 I'm looking at selfishness and vain glory, 56:02 ambition and things that we've talked about. 56:04 I want to say, it's the counterfeit rock 56:07 that's dashed many a souls. 56:09 It cripples the church, 56:11 it cripples our own personal experience. 56:13 And we find that those who are least connected to God 56:17 are the ones who were most earnestly 56:20 seeking for the highest position. 56:24 And mine on hypocrisy, Galatians 6:4, 56:27 comes back to examination. 56:29 "But let each one examine his own work, 56:33 and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, 56:37 and not in another." 56:39 It's important that you examine your life, 56:42 the things you do, the things you say, 56:43 the works of your own life, 56:45 because when you see that 56:46 what you've done brings glory to God, 56:47 only then can there be any rejoicing. 56:51 And by the way, the rejoicing is not for your glory. 56:54 Never forget, the rejoicing is for the glory of Christ. 56:56 Amen. 56:57 On Thursday we looked up uprooting restlessness. 57:00 And Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:1-2, 57:03 that we're to lay aside every weight, 57:05 and the sin that so easily besets us. 57:07 And we're to look unto Jesus, 57:10 the author and finisher of our faith." 57:13 Fix your eyes on Jesus, 57:15 and He will uproot that sin from your life. 57:17 Amen. 57:19 Well, I guess that we could say that 57:22 the root of restlessness is to be self focused, 57:27 to be exalting self. 57:30 And when you spell sin, s-i-n, what's in the middle? 57:33 I. I. 57:35 Anytime you've got I, 57:36 it's like Satan did in Isaiah 14. 57:39 You know, you've got a problem, 57:41 so here's the thing 57:42 that I want to leave you with. 57:45 When we are emptied of self 57:47 and we can't even do that of ourselves, 57:49 but we're praying, I say, 57:50 "Lord, empty me of self 57:52 and fill me with Your Holy Spirit." 57:54 But you can only be filled 57:56 with the spirit to the degree you're emptied of self. 57:59 Join us next week. 58:01 We're going to talk about the Cost of Rest. 58:05 Amen. Amen. |
Revised 2021-07-15