Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000005A
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00:31 Our scripture lesson
00:34 as was outlined comes from the Book of Micah. 00:39 Micah... 00:43 6:8. 00:57 Gracious Father, we ask you know to speak to us 01:04 and help us to understand Your will for our lives, 01:10 and then help us to do that will, 01:13 for it is in the doing that we are made like Christ Jesus 01:18 and we thank you, amen. 01:22 The word for our discussion is ontology. 01:27 Ontology is a branch of philosophy or metaphysics. 01:34 And when we talk about metaphysics, 01:36 we're talking about the first principles, 01:40 the underlying theological or theoretical principles 01:44 of whatever you are studying. 01:47 Metaphysics is what undergirds whatever you're looking at. 01:53 The word meta 01:56 deals with data that defines data. 02:02 Meta means underlying, you hear about... 02:06 What's the word you hear now metadata. 02:09 Metadata is data that explains data. 02:15 It's something that takes a big thing 02:19 and makes it simpler by giving you clues or cues 02:23 to understand and make things 02:24 so you've got a book, big thick book, 02:28 the metadata would be who wrote it? 02:33 What's the subject matter? 02:35 How long is it? 02:36 Its data that helps you understand other data, 02:42 that's metadata, 02:44 so metaphysics is the underlying principle 02:51 that undergirds whatever you are studying. 02:55 So ontology I told you it was pedagogy school. 03:01 Ontology is, 03:04 is a branch of metaphysics 03:09 which deals with humanity 03:13 and existential living. 03:17 It is closely allied with cosmology 03:22 and here's the big one 03:25 epistemology, amen. 03:31 Epistemology deals with the human, 03:34 the limits of human understanding. 03:38 There's only so much you can understand, 03:41 there's so, only so much you can dig into 03:44 and the philosophy of epistemology 03:48 tries to understand how much can we as humans 03:53 actually understand about the world around us. 03:58 And epistemologists questions everything. 04:03 So the quintessential epistemological question 04:06 is which came first, the chicken or the egg? 04:13 The epistemologists would say, 04:16 what chicken? 04:20 Or if you asked an epistemologist, 04:23 why did the chicken cross the road? 04:27 The epistemologist would ask what road? 04:31 Was it a dirt road? 04:33 Was it a paved road? 04:35 Did that chicken normally cross the road? 04:38 How many times have you observed 04:39 that chicken crossing the road? 04:40 And why are you so hung up on chickens anyway? 04:52 Ontology takes epistemology 04:58 and focuses on the metaphysical nature of human existence. 05:03 In other words, 05:04 ontology deals with being human, 05:07 not human being, being human. 05:12 Now this is important, 05:14 because all true religion 05:18 is based on a philosophical structure 05:24 that stands on a ontological framework. 05:30 All true religion is based on ontological foundations. 05:38 It has ontological underpinnings. 05:42 I'll stick with him, we're going somewhere with this 05:44 but I said it's deductive. 05:45 So when I get there, 05:47 you'll know, but we're not there yet. 05:51 Every true religion has a worldview, 05:56 every religion. 05:58 Every true religion looks at the world 06:00 through a certain lens 06:03 and that lens is shaped by ontology. 06:09 Everybody has some sense of ontology 06:14 and your ontology combined with your theology 06:19 equals your faith and your view of the world. 06:22 Even Satan worshippers have ontology. 06:25 They have a life view, they have a reason for living. 06:30 Now, it is wrong and it is misguided 06:33 and it is deceived but they have a sense of being, 06:40 they exist to serve the devil. 06:43 We exist to give glory to God, that's our ontology, 06:48 that's our reason for living. 06:51 So then there are three basic ontological questions 06:56 that we need to wrestle with. 06:59 All religion seeks to answer 07:02 these three basic ontological questions. 07:07 All true religion answers these questions. 07:11 Number one: Basic ontological question, 07:15 where did I come from? 07:18 That's basic, you're here, you had to get here some way. 07:25 Amen. 07:27 I said amen. 07:29 Yeah, where you come from? Well, I came for my mama. 07:32 Where did your mama come from? 07:34 Her mama. 07:36 Where did her mama come from? 07:40 Her mama 07:42 and you go back and you go back and back 07:44 and sometime, somewhere there was an original mama. 07:49 Amen. 07:51 So where did the original mama come from? 07:54 That's, that's ontology, that's the first question, 07:57 where did I come from? 08:00 All philosophers and all philosophies 08:03 must wrestle with that question. 08:05 And all religion, 08:06 all true religion not only wrestles with that question, 08:09 it's got to answer that question. 08:12 Where did we come from? 08:16 People come up with all kind of hybrid solutions. 08:20 Deism, Deistic Evolution, Theo Creationism, 08:25 but the truth is there are only... 08:27 Excuse me, there are only two choices, 08:31 only two choices. 08:33 I mean you got a crust and tomato sauce and cheese, 08:37 that's a pizza. 08:39 Amen. 08:40 That's what that is. 08:43 So there are only two choices. 08:48 Where did the pizza come from? 08:52 It's either by accident or by design. 08:56 Now you take a crust and a jar of Ragu tomato sauce 09:01 and a lump of cheese 09:03 and let it sit there for a billion years, 09:05 you'll never get a pizza. 09:09 You can't. 09:13 So we got here 09:15 either by accident or design, 09:21 amen. 09:23 Yeah, you are either an accident 09:25 or you are part of someone's design. 09:29 When you looked at the mirror this morning, 09:30 what you saw looking back at you was an accident... 09:39 Or it was design. 09:42 That's, that's it. 09:44 Accident or design, 09:47 on purpose, accident. 09:50 Now, if you believe in design, 09:52 you must de facto believe Larry in a designer, 09:58 amen. 09:59 You cannot have design without a designer 10:05 because design does not come by accident. 10:12 Look at your fingers, look at your toes. 10:16 Accident? 10:20 So design presupposes designer. 10:25 Pizzas don't just appear, 10:31 amen. 10:32 Someone's got to make that pizza. 10:37 It is illogical to believe 10:41 that we are the product of billions of years 10:45 of random selection. 10:46 It simply does not make sense. 10:52 And if, we are part of an evolutionary process 10:56 then my question is what comes after us. 11:03 If it's evolution, do not think you are the end, 11:07 you are a transitional state. 11:12 By the way this is the teleological argument 11:16 for the existence of God, 11:18 there's ontological and there's teleological 11:20 and there's one I can't remember. 11:22 But the teleological argument says, 11:24 "If you've got something that is complex, 11:26 something more complex had to make 11:28 that less complex thing." 11:31 So we are fearfully and wonderfully made. 11:35 Who fearfully and wonderfully made us? 11:43 It is an important ontological question. 11:47 So if you believe in evolution 11:51 or accidental creation, 11:55 you favor natural selection over God. 12:01 You believe that we came from lower life forms. 12:06 You believe that daddy was a gorilla, 12:09 mama was a chimpanzee. 12:13 You cannot believe in both. 12:18 It's either one or the other, 12:22 either God is or God ain't. 12:26 And the Bible says, 12:27 "He that cometh unto God, must believe that he is, 12:33 and that he is a rewarder," 12:34 Hebrews 11:6. 12:36 Seventh-day Adventism answers those questions 12:40 from the word of God. 12:43 Genesis 1:1, 12:44 very first book in the Bible, 12:45 very first chapter, very first verse. 12:48 "In the beginning God," 12:49 in the Hebrew Bereshit Bara Elohim. 12:53 John 1:3, the Bible says, 12:55 "Without him was not anything made that was made." 12:58 The Bible makes no apologies for its assertion 13:02 that you came from the hand of God, 13:05 you are not an accident. 13:09 I remember I had an elder 13:11 who I asked to take prayer meeting for me 13:15 when I was pastoring the Ephesus Church 13:18 and he preached on the subject, 13:20 "I ain't no accident." 13:23 He was the product of parents who were not married 13:30 and all his life they would say, 13:32 "Oh, well, he was an accident." 13:34 And he said, "I ain't no accident, 13:37 came from the hand of God. 13:39 The fact that I'm here means I ain't no accident." 13:44 Evolutionists then 13:47 have no right along with atheist 13:50 and I suppose agnostic 13:51 have no right to celebrate Christmas. 13:57 How can you celebrate the birth of the Son of God 14:00 and you don't believe in God. 14:03 So that holiday is taken. 14:07 So ontological question number one: 14:10 Where did I come from? 14:13 Ontological question number two: 14:16 Why am I here? 14:22 And what is the best way to behave while I am here? 14:28 Why are you here? 14:32 Why am I here is a crucial question 14:37 to be answered. 14:40 There are some people walking the earth today, 14:44 who have never asked themselves the question 14:48 until they get in trouble 14:51 and then everyone hit the answers. 14:55 Why are you here? 14:58 Have you solve that in your life? 15:03 And it's important question 15:05 because if you know why you are here, 15:09 when things don't go like you want, 15:14 you can handle it 15:16 'cause you know why you're here. 15:19 I'm gonna come back to that in a little bit 15:20 and say it a different way, 15:22 make a little more sense to you. 15:24 Part B. 15:26 How do I live while I am here? 15:28 How do I treat my neighbor? 15:29 How do I treat my wife? 15:31 How do I treat my husband? 15:32 How do I treat my coworkers? 15:34 How do I treat the planet? 15:35 How do I treat those who don't treat me well? 15:43 How do I treat those who are different than I am? 15:49 Does the word, does my church address that? 15:53 Well, indeed it does. 15:56 Ontological question number three: 16:01 What happens when I'm gone? 16:06 Amen. 16:08 What happens to the world 16:10 and most importantly what happens to me? 16:16 How did I get here? 16:18 How do I stay here? 16:20 What happens when I ain't here? 16:26 If you go to a church 16:29 and their study of the word of God 16:32 does not address or redress 16:35 these three basic ontological questions 16:40 then dare I say 16:42 that church is not doing you any good. 16:48 It is a waste of time. 16:51 It may even be a cult, 16:54 because all true religion has got to wrestle 16:58 with the basic ontological questions, 17:01 where did I come from? 17:03 How did I get here? 17:05 What's the best way to behave while I am here? 17:07 And when I leave here, what happens? 17:11 So if your church doesn't deal with that, 17:13 it can't help you 17:14 and you forgive my pejorative English, 17:16 sure enough can't save you. 17:22 You see the Christian, 17:24 the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian 17:29 is not that Christians are better than non-Christian, 17:32 you know that's not true. 17:35 The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian 17:39 is that Christians in some form 17:44 or another have asked 17:46 and answered those basic questions. 17:51 If a person says, "I don't believe in God. 17:54 I don't go to church. I don't pray." 17:56 What they are telling you is I haven't wrestled 18:00 with the existential ontological issues of life. 18:04 They are saying, "I don't know why I am here." 18:09 And, ladies and gentlemen, that's a horrible way to live. 18:15 Honestly answering those three questions 18:19 forces you into the arms of Jesus 18:22 if you're honest with yourself. 18:24 Now you can dance around them. 18:27 But if you're honest with yourself and you ask, 18:30 where did I come from? 18:31 Why am I here? 18:33 Where am I going? 18:34 What happens when I'm not here? 18:35 You got to go to God to get those answers. 18:42 Why? 18:44 Because there are only two, one is go to God, 18:49 the other is I don't know. 18:54 So where you came from is where you're going. 19:01 If you came from God, you're going to God, amen. 19:07 If you came from I don't know... 19:13 where you going? 19:15 I don't know. 19:20 So you got to answer those questions. 19:24 And if you don't know, 19:26 they used to say in New York you better ask somebody. 19:30 So let's dig down just a little bit deeper, 19:32 one more layer. 19:34 What? 19:36 1 Peter 2:9, 19:38 1 Peter 2:9, 19:42 Bible says, 19:43 "But you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood, 19:45 a holy nation, his own special people." 19:48 I'm in a New King James, 19:50 "that you may proclaim the praise of him 19:52 who has called you out of darkness into this, 19:55 into his marvelous light." 19:59 So we are among other things 20:02 to show forth the praises of him 20:05 who called us from darkness to light. 20:08 Can you say amen? 20:10 Two, 20:12 how do we do that? 20:14 1 Corinthians 10:31, what book did I say? 20:17 1 Corinthians 10:31. 20:26 You may be saying to yourself, "Oh, this is tough stuff." 20:28 Well, this is not even a sermon. 20:34 It's just preamble. 20:37 1 Corinthians 10:31. 20:41 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, 20:45 do what? 20:46 Do all to the glory of God." 20:47 So that's how it's done. 20:49 Whatever you do, do it so that God gets glory. 20:54 Amen. 20:56 Yeah. 20:57 God has called us so God now says, 21:01 anything that takes place in your life, 21:03 whatever you do order yourself 21:07 so that God gets glory from your living, 21:10 that's how you do it, why? 21:17 Why were we created? 21:18 Ephesians 2:10, what book did I say? 21:22 That's what I said, Ephesians 2... 21:35 Ephesians 2:10 21:40 "For we are," the Bible says his what? 21:44 "Workmanship, crafted by Christ, 21:47 created in Christ Jesus" for what? 21:51 "For good works, which God prepared beforehand 21:55 that we should walk in them." 21:57 So the Bible is saying 21:59 we were created to do good. 22:04 Amen. 22:05 That's why you exist. 22:07 You exist to do good. 22:10 God made you to do good. 22:13 You draw breath on the earth to do good. 22:18 Your goal in life is to do good. 22:23 You are created to do good. 22:26 Well, God what is good? 22:31 Scripture lesson for today. 22:32 Micah 6:8. 22:35 Micah 6:8, 22:38 "He has showed thee 22:41 O man, what is good." 22:46 So God's telling you to do good, 22:48 He's not gonna leave you questioning what good is, 22:52 He's going to show you what good is. 22:55 Amen. 22:59 He has showed you man what is good, 23:02 and what does the Lord require of you. 23:04 What is required of me? 23:08 One of those words you know what it means, 23:10 just hard to explain. 23:12 Means you got to do it. 23:15 Do justly, 23:18 love mercy 23:20 and walk humbly with thy God. 23:22 Amen. 23:24 That's what it is. 23:25 He has showed you what is good and what God wants of me, 23:28 He wants you to do justly, 23:30 that means, be fair with everybody. 23:36 Amen. 23:37 If you own a store, be fair. 23:39 If someone is working for you, don't cheat them. 23:43 Amen. 23:45 Be fair, when you go to work punch in, 23:48 when you go in, 23:50 and punch out 23:52 when you go out. 23:56 Do justly, be fair, 23:58 don't put your finger on the scale. 24:04 Come on, 24:07 do justly, be fair, don't steal. 24:11 You find an envelope with a $1000 in it, 24:15 that's not your birthday present. 24:19 Somebody lost that money 24:21 and God doesn't have to bless you 24:23 by making somebody else suffer. 24:29 Do justly. 24:32 Amen. 24:33 Number two: Love mercy, 24:37 not just be merciful, love it. 24:43 Now that's tough. 24:45 Somebody does you wrong and you've got to love mercy. 24:52 Well, Lord, let me just pop him one time, 24:54 then I'll be merciful. 24:59 No, love mercy, 25:00 that's got to be the way you function. 25:02 You cannot return evil for evil. 25:06 So just because someone is doing you wrong, 25:09 doesn't give you license to do them wrong. 25:13 Amen. 25:15 Love mercy. 25:18 That's why God put us in some situations. 25:22 Got to love mercy. 25:25 Then you got to walk humbly with your God. 25:27 Amen. 25:29 Walk humbly. 25:32 Does anyone know 25:33 what's the number one sin in the church is by the way? 25:37 Number one sin in the church. 25:38 I think I heard it. 25:40 Pride, pride, 25:42 Number one sin in the world is envy and jealousy. 25:45 Number one in church is pride. 25:47 Everyone says a pride. 25:51 Very difficult to detect, 25:56 almost impossible to cure. 26:00 And just, just about everybody has got so. 26:04 Look at the person next to you. 26:07 Yeah, that person got pride problem, 26:10 so do you. 26:14 Everybody's got some. 26:18 That's why 26:21 the Lord has you sometimes working next to people 26:23 who don't like you. 26:27 And He wants you to stay right there. 26:29 Amen. 26:32 And wants to ask for another job 26:33 or move to another position, stay right there, 26:36 'cause He's working on your pride. 26:39 And if they've got a problem with you, 26:42 that's not your problem. 26:44 That's their problem. 26:46 Amen. 26:47 Your problem is that you got a problem with them. 26:52 Amen. 26:54 So God's saying stay put 26:57 because your pride needs to be worked on. 27:02 Amen. 27:04 Number one sin in the church, pride. 27:10 And yet praise God, 27:11 He can even take care of our pride. 27:23 Onto logical issue number three: 27:27 What happens when I'm no longer here? 27:29 Solomon wrote a diary. 27:32 Does anybody know what that is? 27:35 It is the Book of... 27:40 Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes, it's a diary, 27:44 he speaks of himself in the third person, 27:46 the preacher said this, 27:47 the preacher said that, that's his diary. 27:48 It's a diary of his experiment with life. 27:51 We think of ladies usually keeping diaries. 27:53 But the wisest man who ever lived kept a diary 27:57 and when it was done last verse, 27:59 last chapter he said, 28:01 "Fear God 28:03 and keep His commandments, 28:07 this is the whole duty of man." 28:11 After going throughout his whole life 28:12 with this experiment, he said, 28:14 let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. 28:16 Let's just end it. Let's sum it up. 28:18 "Fear God, keep His commandments, 28:20 that's all you got to do. 28:23 Amen. 28:27 Because 28:30 God shall bring every work in the judgment 28:33 as it happens after you're gone. 28:37 Now, there are only two additional issues to deal with, 28:42 then we're done with this part. 28:48 They seem worldly 28:50 but they are actually spiritual, 28:52 they are two essential ingredients, 28:58 they are purpose and focus. 29:04 Purpose and focus, 29:09 purpose and focus. 29:14 Purpose is the reason why something exists by design, 29:20 it exists for a purpose. 29:24 Things exist for a purpose and as it pleases God 29:29 and the Holy Spirit you exist for a purpose. 29:35 Teleology, that branch, 29:37 that other rational aspect for who God is 29:42 says that everything has a final cause, 29:47 an ultimate cause. 29:50 So we accomplish God's purpose 29:54 by maintaining our focus, amen. 30:00 Which is why Satan does all he can 30:04 to distract you from Jesus. 30:08 He wants you to lose focus 30:13 and Satan knows if you lose focus, 30:18 he can thwart God's purpose 30:22 because we accomplish our purpose 30:25 by maintaining our focus. 30:27 That was a little different kind of sermon 30:29 but this will make my head back to that. 30:32 That's why in Isaiah 26:3 the Bible says, 30:34 "Perfect peace of they 30:36 whose minds are stayed on Jesus." 30:38 That's the text that's demanding focus. 30:42 You only get perfect peace 30:44 when you keep your mind on Jesus, 30:47 not an occasional thought about Jesus, 30:49 not letting Jesus kind of run through your mind 30:50 and going back to other stuff. 30:52 Perfect peace have they 30:53 whose minds are stayed on Christ. 30:56 It is a text demanding focus. 31:03 Peace comes... 31:04 there used to be a song we used to sing back... 31:05 back at Oakwood Yvonne with a mate of mine, 31:10 I've got heaven in my view. 31:13 That's focus. 31:17 And these days we fulfill our purpose 31:20 by maintaining our focus. 31:22 Behavioral scientists say 31:24 and I stayed in school long enough 31:26 that I got a degree in behavioral science also 31:30 between the basketball games 31:32 and other stuff that I actually went to school. 31:37 And behavioral sciences say 31:42 that... 31:46 intelligence... 31:49 Well, there's I have, 31:52 I have three doctorate degrees, 31:54 one earned and two honor as caused it. 31:57 Do not be impressed because I am not. 32:00 Here's the thing. 32:01 You don't have to be that smart 32:04 to get a doctorate's degree. 32:08 You've got to stick with it, let us be a genius 32:13 'cause I got three and I hit that upright... 32:19 you just got to stay with it, 32:21 and if you stay with it long enough 32:22 and gave him enough money, they will give you the degree. 32:29 So when somebody says I'm a PhD. 32:31 Okay, praise the Lord, 32:33 just don't be impressed with that. 32:37 Behavioral sciences will tell you 32:39 that intelligence 32:43 is simply a measure of capacity. 32:46 We talk about, oh, she's so intelligent, 32:48 he's so intelligent, he's not so intelligent, 32:50 it's just a measure of capacity. 32:55 Some people have a little more capacity than others, 32:59 but do not be impressed with that 33:01 because the truth is 33:03 most people have about the same intelligence. 33:08 Most people have average intelligence 33:11 and you can get most things 33:13 done in life that you want to do 33:16 with average intelligence. 33:18 You don't need to be a genius. 33:20 Most folk are average. 33:23 The reason they call it average 33:25 is because most folk are average. 33:33 Now, you have some 33:35 who are really, really bright, 33:40 they are really smart, 33:43 really intelligent, 33:45 then you got average people, 33:48 then you got some folk... 33:53 they are little challenged. 34:02 But most folk are average. 34:05 Now the truth is 34:07 that an average intelligence person 34:11 who sticks to it 34:14 will accomplish more 34:16 than a really smart person who has a deal of time, 34:21 in and out of everything 34:23 because most of the stuff you want to do, 34:26 you, can do with average intelligence and focus, amen. 34:31 Not to be a genius, 34:33 just stay at it and you can get it done. 34:36 Amen. 34:38 Don't have to have 160 IQ. 34:41 Just stay at your work, 34:43 do what you have to do and you will get there. 34:45 Now, intelligence is a measure of capacity. 34:48 I know I'm giving you a lot of stuff 34:49 but I'm gonna bring this together in a little bit. 34:54 These two vessels hold the same amount... 35:00 so they are the same intelligence by, 35:06 but there is also something called aptitude. 35:10 Aptitude is the ability that you have to 35:16 if, if intelligence is capacity, 35:19 then aptitude is the opening in the vessel 35:23 that allows information to come in. 35:26 Amen. 35:28 Now which one of these can you fill faster? 35:34 Yeah, the glass 35:36 because the aptitude 35:38 the aperture is wider. 35:42 Now they both hold the same but this one fills faster. 35:47 Now there are some people who get it really fast. 35:51 Amen, and praise the Lord. 35:54 There are some people who take a little more time, 35:58 they fill up a little slower. 36:00 But they get it. 36:04 Yeah, they get it. 36:05 It just takes a little longer to get in there. 36:08 So this person shouldn't be ashamed 36:10 because it takes them a little longer 36:12 than this person. 36:14 Amen. 36:16 I'm gonna get there, others need a little more time. 36:20 There are some people who go through the tests 36:21 down in ten minutes 36:25 and some take a little longer, 36:28 but they gonna get there. 36:30 Amen. 36:31 So intelligence is capacity. 36:34 Aptitude determines your ability 36:35 to get it in, get it out. 36:37 So don't, don't, don't be ashamed 36:39 if it takes you a little bit longer 36:41 'cause you're still God's child. 36:43 Amen. 36:44 You got a rabbits and you got tortoises, 36:49 tortoises get there to. 36:52 The Bible says, 36:54 maintain your focus 36:57 and you will get what you want, 37:01 very smart, not so smart, it's okay, 37:04 your capacity is your intelligence 37:07 and that's what counts. 37:08 And then by the way, 37:10 now they taught us this in school, they said, 37:12 "You are born with a certain IQ, 37:14 certain intelligence and it does not change." 37:17 Ellen White says, it does change. 37:20 She says, Bible Study, not just Bible reading, 37:25 Bible study makes you more intelligent. 37:31 Amen. 37:32 So Bible study increases your capacity. 37:37 Amen. 37:39 It may not open the neck more 37:43 but it does increase your capacity 37:45 if you study the word of God, 37:47 so if you're not the sharpest, sharpest knife in the drawer, 37:50 study the word of God. 37:53 Amen, you'll get smarter. 37:58 Purpose and focus, 38:04 most of the things I say again 38:05 you want to accomplish you can do so 38:08 through focus. 38:13 There are 23 separate scriptural texts in the Bible 38:18 that speak on the idea of focus to the people of God. 38:22 They never use the word focus 38:24 but their idea is focus. 38:28 You can do a lot, 38:30 you can accomplish a lot by staying with stuff 38:34 that you won't, you won't accomplish 38:36 if you give up quick. 38:37 I'm sure Evelyn Haney and Meghan Everton 38:40 have had to say to kids many times. 38:41 Don't give up just because you fail one time, 38:43 stay with it. 38:44 Focus, stay on it, you'll get it. 38:48 May take you some time, but you'll gonna get it, 38:51 just stay focus. 38:54 The Bible says those who finish the race, 38:57 those who focus on stuff, 39:01 get the prize 39:03 because focus helps you 39:06 fulfill your purpose. 39:10 Don't be distracted, don't be dissuaded, 39:12 don't be disappointed, don't be deluded, 39:13 don't be discouraged, don't be disgruntled, 39:15 don't be dismayed, 39:16 don't be disaffected, focus. 39:22 And let me add this. 39:24 Knowing your purpose 39:27 helps you get through life's trials. 39:31 Amen. 39:35 So when you know why you are here, 39:39 when you know that you are God's child, 39:43 it helps you get through stinky stuff. 39:50 Anybody had stinky stuff happen in your life? 39:53 Be honest, I've had stinky stuff. 39:57 Knowing that you belong to God 39:58 helps you deal with stinky stuff, 40:02 and everybody gets some stinky stuff. 40:05 No stink free people here, we get some stinky stuff. 40:10 But knowing that you belong to God 40:11 helps you roll with the stinky stuff, 40:13 and if you haven't had sticky stuff in your life, 40:15 keep on living, stinky stuff is coming. 40:23 Because you know, your purpose, and when life's trials come, 40:27 you stay strong and you stay focused. 40:29 So when the doctor tells you, 40:31 you need to come in because we need to talk. 40:36 You don't fall apart. 40:41 You know someone told me the other day, 40:42 when I hit 65, 65 hit me back 40:48 and it's been hitting me ever since. 40:49 Well, when a doctor called and says, 40:51 "You need to come in, 40:52 he's not going to tell over the phone. 40:54 You need to come in." 40:57 You don't fall apart, 40:59 you go ahead and hear what he has to say, 41:03 and you maintain your focus 41:06 because you know your purpose, that makes sense. 41:16 When we forget our purpose 41:19 and lose our focus God's name is disgrace, 41:23 our faith is misplaced 41:25 and spiritual and physical death can take place. 41:38 The country is Brazil. 41:43 It is a late summer evening. 41:48 And a taxi driver 41:51 is driving along a road 41:53 that borders the ocean. 41:59 He comes across the body of a young man, 42:03 who was obviously the victim of a hit and run drive. 42:09 Someone has hit this young man, 42:11 15, 16, 17 maybe a little older and left him to die. 42:14 Now I need to say two things before we go on this, 42:17 one, this is a true story. 42:21 You can always tell 42:22 when a pastor is telling you a true story 42:23 because he'll just tells the story. 42:25 If it's apocryphal he'll say the story as told. 42:30 It's a true story. 42:31 And somebody in the story is Adventist, 42:34 so I want you to hold on to the facts 42:36 because you're going to be quizzed when it's over. 42:39 You need out find out who the Adventist is? 42:42 So this taxi driver sees this young man 42:45 who has been hit, 42:47 someone has left him to die 42:49 and he puts this young man in his cab 42:54 and heads off to some place to get help. 42:58 Now where he goes is not a, 43:00 it's not a full hospital 43:02 it's a, it's a wayside clinic and evidently in Brazil 43:04 they have a number of these small clinics 43:06 that dot the landscape, 43:07 everybody can't afford a hospital 43:08 they go to this wayside clinics. 43:10 He brings this young bleeding young man to the clinic, 43:14 he runs inside, it's a Sunday evening, 43:16 there's not much going on, doctor there, 43:19 an orderly and a nurse three people 43:20 and he's excited, he's hyperventilating, 43:24 you got to come, you got to come, 43:25 you got to come, you got to come now, 43:27 you got to come now, you got to come now. 43:28 I've got a young man in my cab. 43:30 He's hit, he's bleeding. 43:31 I brought him here and you got to help me, 43:32 you got to help me, you got to help me, 43:34 come, come right now. 43:35 And the doctor says not so fast. 43:43 There are some things we need to take care first. 43:47 Does the young man have insurance? 43:51 It's the question that is asked. 43:54 Well, I don't know if he has insurance, 43:55 I just found him on the road, I picked him over 43:56 and I brought him here, he is dying, he's bleeding, 43:58 he's dying, you got to come, you got come. 44:02 Wait a minute. 44:06 You sure he doesn't have any insurance? 44:11 I don't think so, 44:13 I didn't go through his pockets 44:16 but I didn't see a lot of money... 44:20 but you need to come. 44:22 Well, okay, hold a second. Do you have any money? 44:27 No. 44:29 Sunday evening is kind of slow, things aren't going so well, 44:33 I got a couple of dollars but I don't have a lot of money 44:35 but you got to come because this guy is in trouble. 44:38 You got to come. You got to come. 44:39 Well, well, hold a minute, hold a minute. 44:42 Because we have, we have a problem 44:46 and the problem is 44:49 that if he doesn't have any insurance 44:53 and you don't have any money for a deposit. 44:56 I don't know 44:59 if there's anything I can do. 45:08 But doctor you don't understand, 45:12 if we don't help this kid, he is going to die. 45:21 But so you got to understand my problem. 45:24 I am the doctor here, 45:29 we wouldn't be in business very long, 45:32 if we gave out medical treatment 45:36 and didn't get paid for, 45:40 this is a business 45:43 and how long we will last if we just dispense medications 45:48 and gave treatment and got no money. 45:55 So I don't know 45:57 if there's anything I can do. 45:59 I don't make the rules here, I work here and the rules are, 46:03 "No money, no service." 46:12 And so the cab driver says, 46:15 "Okay, 46:17 why don't you just 46:22 tell me what to do." 46:26 And maybe I can bandage him up and do something. 46:30 Doctor thinks, 46:33 no, no, can't do it. 46:37 Because if something goes wrong, 46:40 they're not going to come after your license 46:42 because you don't have one. 46:45 They're going to come after me. 46:48 So if I give you a method of treatment 46:50 and it goes wrong 46:52 the person who will suffer is me not you. 46:55 So I can't treat him 46:57 and it makes no sense to tell you to treat him 46:59 because my license is on the line. 47:02 It just doesn't make sense, not much I can do. 47:09 And so the doctor says 47:11 or rather the cab driver says, okay, okay, okay, 47:16 let's why don't you just come outside and look at it. 47:23 So you can just kind of evaluate 47:25 what kind of shape he's in. 47:32 No, no, 47:35 doesn't make any sense to look at him 47:37 because I can't treat him 47:39 and I can't tell you how to treat him. 47:42 So looking at him doesn't make any sense. 47:47 Remember, I told you is a true story 47:49 and somebody in the story is Adventist... 47:55 so after half hour, forty minutes 47:57 in change have gone, 47:59 this taxi driver realizes nothing's going to happen here 48:04 and the doctor says what you need to do 48:06 is take that young man to a public hospital 48:09 that takes in these patients who don't have any money 48:12 and get him taken care of there. 48:14 And so the taxi driver jumps back into his cab 48:17 high heels it all the way across town, 48:20 but the lapse in time, 48:24 the bumpy roads, 48:26 the dirt and the dust, 48:28 by the time they get over to this public hospital, 48:33 this young man is pronounced dead on arrival. 48:42 Now how do you tell a parent, 48:46 any parent that... 48:51 your child was hit and left to die 48:57 by a hit and run driver 49:00 and then when 49:04 he is put in the hands 49:05 of the medical community. 49:10 It is the medical community that assures is dead. 49:13 How do you tell a parent that and yet when they found out 49:18 who the family was that's the story 49:22 that the police had to take to the house. 49:32 And they told the grieving mother, 49:35 your child is dead. 49:41 Later on that evening 49:45 the father comes home 49:47 and it just so happens that he is a doctor also 49:50 but he works at a large private hospital 49:54 and as he is want to do, he kisses his wife, 49:59 picks up and hugs his little daughter 50:01 and the next question is where's our son. 50:05 Now, I need to say though he works 50:06 he is employed at a large private hospital 50:09 occasionally, occasionally on Sunday evenings, 50:12 he picks up some extra money working at small clinics. 50:17 And so now the wife tells her husband 50:22 this tale of woe 50:25 and as she unfolds the story, 50:29 he is forced to the conclusion 50:32 because he remembers, 50:34 yeah, there was a cab driver came into the clinic today, 50:37 but I couldn't do nothing for him, 50:39 you know the rules of the clinic. 50:41 So I sent him off to a public hospital. 50:46 So the wife is telling the story 50:47 and he is now forced into conclusion that the child, 50:50 the child, the child he refused to treat, 50:56 a child he refused 50:58 even to see 51:03 was indeed and in fact is his own child. 51:10 That's his kid. 51:18 If that were the end of the story 51:21 as printed in the newspaper, 51:24 I would be sad enough 51:25 but the last paragraph said this, 51:30 it said, 51:33 "The doctor has seized a practice of medicine. 51:38 He is confined to an institution 51:43 suffering from chronic depression 51:47 and irreconcilable guilt." 51:53 So before we dismiss ourselves today, 51:55 one question I have to ask you is what went wrong? 52:01 Because something terrible went wrong. 52:03 Do you think had he known that was his child in that cab 52:08 that any amount of money, any set of rules, 52:11 any set of regulations would have kept him 52:13 from dealing with that child. 52:17 So what went wrong? 52:22 Two words 52:24 purpose 52:27 and focus. 52:31 He forgot his purpose 52:36 and he lost his focus 52:41 and when you forget your purpose 52:46 and lose your focus, 52:49 the name of God is disgraced. 52:52 Faith is misplaced 52:54 and spiritual and physical death 52:58 takes its place. 53:02 He lost his focus. 53:05 He forgot his purpose 53:10 and a life will scarify. 53:15 You can never forget 53:18 why you are here 53:22 in good times, in bad times 53:26 when everybody's praising you 53:28 or when they're cursing you to your face. 53:31 You got to remember your purpose. 53:36 You are here to give glory to God 53:41 and the way you do that 53:43 is by maintaining your focus. 53:48 You got to keep heaven in your view. 53:51 You don't have to respond to every slight 53:54 or every bad word 53:56 or every sometimes someone talks about you 53:57 or every time someone does something evil toward you. 54:00 You've got to remember your purpose, 54:01 your purpose is to glorify God. 54:06 And you do that by maintaining focus. 54:09 Now, two things and we're done. 54:11 I did say it's a true story. 54:13 I also did say that somebody in this story 54:15 was a Seventh-day Adventist, did I not? 54:18 Who do you think the Adventists was? 54:21 You're praying, it's the cab driver. 54:27 Well, if it pleases you 54:29 to think that the cab driver was an Adventist 54:32 then be pleased, he was, amen. 54:37 What if I told you he was not the only Adventist? 54:44 Whole bunch of Adventists in this story. 54:48 What if I told you the doctor was Adventist. 54:53 What if I told you the reason that that particular cab driver 54:56 went to that particular clinic in because he knew 54:58 he had a brother 55:02 in a faith there. 55:09 He forgot his purpose. 55:13 His purpose is to glorify God, 55:17 and he lost his focus 55:20 and somebody died. 55:24 You see in maintaining purpose and focus the life you save 55:28 may well be your own. 55:34 You've got to hold on to Jesus through tough times 55:36 'cause tough times are coming. 55:39 Stuff you relied on, people you relied on, 55:42 things you relied on, jobs you relied on, 55:46 health you relied on, 55:49 one day it may not be there. 55:53 And all you may have is Jesus. 55:58 And I say this over and over again, 55:59 you'll never know that Jesus is all you need 56:02 until Jesus is all you got. 56:10 Where did I come from? 56:12 Jesus. 56:14 What's the best way to live while I'm here? 56:16 In Jesus. 56:18 Where do I go when I'm gone? 56:20 To Jesus. 56:26 Maintain your purpose. 56:28 You're here for a reason. 56:31 You're God's child. 56:33 Stay focused on Him. 56:38 And one day you will see Him face to face. 56:43 Amen. 56:45 That's God's promise. 56:48 The Bible says all His promises are sure. 56:54 Father God, 56:56 help us 57:00 never to forget 57:02 whose we are 57:05 and why we are here. 57:08 Help us Lord, 57:10 to maintain our focus on You, 57:16 so that we may fulfill our purpose 57:22 to give glory to our Father which is in heaven 57:27 and we thank you dear Father in Jesus' name, amen. 57:32 Amen. |
Revised 2017-03-02