Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000009A
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00:30 The message entitled two roads, how many roads?
00:34 Two roads. 00:36 If you have your Bibles with you 00:37 which I believe you do 00:38 and I know that also we are blessed 00:40 to have the scripture on the screen. 00:43 Go with me to Deuteronomy 30:19. 00:49 Deuteronomy 30:19. 00:54 The word of the Lord says, 00:55 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you 01:01 that I have set before you..." 01:03 To what? 01:04 "Life and death, blessing and cursing, 01:09 therefore choose life, 01:12 that both you and your descendants may live." 01:18 Bow your heads with me as I go to the Lord in prayer. 01:21 Loving Father in heaven, 01:22 thank You that this directive 01:24 is not just one that begins with two choices, 01:28 but it ends with your direct guidance, choose life. 01:35 Heavenly Father, today 01:38 in a world that is so torn with choices, 01:41 help us to hear 01:42 above the cacophony of distractions, 01:45 the voice of God saying to us, choose life. 01:51 And so today, Lord, take this message 01:53 and bring it to the hearts of Your children 01:56 including my heart, 01:58 that we may hear 02:00 what Your Spirit has to say to us 02:03 this morning in Jesus' name. 02:07 Amen. Amen. 02:10 Number of years ago 02:11 when I was being raised in New York City, 02:13 I've told you the story a number of times 02:16 about my old 1976 Toyota Corona, 02:21 the car that I describe a number of times 02:23 as having cancer on the front fenders, 02:27 you remember that story? 02:28 If you've not heard the story in 1976 I was gifted, 02:34 actually in 1976 I was gifted with a car 02:38 that had already been old. 02:42 And I may get the details of the story, 02:44 it's been so long ago incorrect but the car was a 1976 car, 02:49 didn't get at that particular year, 02:53 but when I got the car I was excited to get it 02:56 because the dad who said he would never buy me a car 02:59 actually gave me money to get that car. 03:02 And I was so desirous of pleasing him that I said, 03:05 "Papa, I could take you anywhere 03:07 you want to go." 03:09 And so he decided one day to challenge me 03:12 and put that request into effect. 03:16 He decided, he wanted to go to camp meeting 03:18 upstate New York. 03:20 We had a camp meeting called the Victory Lake camp meeting 03:23 in Hyde Park, New York. 03:26 And I remember very well taken off that Sabbath morning 03:29 going to camp meeting, 03:30 I had been there a number of times before, 03:32 I'd either gone by church bus 03:35 or we had driven with other friends 03:36 or we had driven ourselves 03:38 and I was so familiar with the road, 03:41 I knew exactly where the camp meeting was. 03:44 Got up early that Sabbath morning 03:46 to get to camp meeting in time for church, 03:49 in time for Sabbath school, 03:50 it was more than just a camp meeting, 03:51 it was a social event. 03:53 All the young people went to camp meeting 03:56 just to hang out with each other. 03:59 And there I was, papa in the passenger seat, 04:01 I'm driving and I said, 04:05 "Papa, I'm so glad 04:06 you're going to camp meeting with me, 04:08 I know the way." 04:10 And on my way up from the major highways 04:12 to the smaller county roads, 04:14 then to the least travel roads, 04:17 then to the one lane road, 04:19 on my way to camp meeting 04:20 I saw all these cars whizzing by me. 04:25 And I could, I remember saying to papa, 04:28 they're on their way to camp meeting 04:29 but they're going the wrong way. 04:32 I saw them all turn off and I said, 04:34 "Papa, good thing you're with me, 04:36 we're going to get to camp meeting before they 04:38 because they're all going the wrong way." 04:41 Hold on. 04:44 So I ended up 04:48 in the main city of Hyde Park, New York, 04:54 and I thought to myself, 04:55 I had done this drive so many times, 05:00 how could I have taken the wrong turn? 05:03 So Papa said, "Did we arrive?" 05:06 I said, "Yes, we did but not where I thought we would be. 05:12 We are in Hyde Park, 05:13 but we are not at Victory Lake." 05:16 Humbled as I was at that very realization, 05:20 I turned around and began my trek back 05:23 and I realized that what point in the road 05:26 I made my wrong turn, 05:28 I made the turn five minutes to easy town 05:32 and I missed the road that I was supposed to take. 05:35 I was on the wrong road 05:37 and I got to Victory 05:41 after everybody else got there. 05:43 I got to Victory late because I made the wrong turn. 05:49 It was a humbling experience 05:51 and I remember from that never to boast again 05:53 that I know the way, 05:55 and so often in our own lives 05:57 we wake up on our day to day lives, 06:00 we wake up on Sabbath morning 06:01 and we believe in ourselves that we know the way, 06:05 only to come up with the reality 06:07 that for that particular day 06:10 we made the wrong turn. 06:16 But I'm so glad that when we make the wrong turn, 06:18 God allows U-turns, can you say amen to that? 06:22 And so this morning we are going to take a journey 06:25 down the road that some of us have been down, 06:28 only to find out and come to the realization 06:31 that in this life nothing matters more. 06:35 Let me say that again, 06:36 nothing matters more than knowing 06:39 that we are on the right road to eternal life. 06:43 I mean, nothing matters more, and as you get older, 06:46 young folk, hold on, 06:49 when you past a certain chronological point in life, 06:53 when the decades begin to add up, 06:57 and you realize that you have more time behind you 07:01 than ahead of you, 07:03 all of a sudden going in the right direction 07:05 makes a difference. 07:09 When you pause to look at your life 07:10 where it has been and where it could be. 07:14 When you begin to measure the world 07:17 against what Jesus has promised us, 07:19 all of a sudden you begin to realize 07:22 that there is nothing in this world 07:25 that we can trade for that eternal kingdom 07:29 that Jesus has gone to prepare for us. 07:32 There's nothing down here. 07:34 I've been to Broadway, I've been to Australia, 07:37 I've been to countries around the world, 07:38 there's not a country 07:40 that my wife and I have touch with our feet 07:42 that we would trade for the kingdom 07:43 that God is preparing for us. 07:47 But you never know that until somehow you find yourself 07:50 going down the wrong road. 07:53 When Jesus stood before the multitude, 07:55 today we're going to consider a 2,000 year appeal 08:00 that Jesus reverberated from His lips. 08:02 He infatuatedly appeal to the hearts 08:04 of those listening to Him 08:06 and He appealed to them 08:09 to not to be deceived by going down the road 08:11 that looks better. 08:14 Everything that looks better is not better. 08:20 Look at Matthew 7:13, the words of Jesus. 08:25 "Going down the road 08:26 that sometimes is designed to look better, 08:29 but really it is not better." 08:33 The Word of God says, Matthew 7:13, 08:36 "Enter by the..." 08:38 What kind of gate? 08:40 "The narrow gate, for wide is the gate 08:44 and broad is the way that leads to destruction, 08:49 and there are many who go in by it." 08:55 Serving the Lord says that 08:57 these two roads mention lead in opposite directions, 09:00 one is narrow and rugged, 09:02 the other is wider and smoother but its end is destruction. 09:07 The smooth road is not always the best road. 09:13 Those that climb mountains know that, 09:14 you can't climb a smooth mountain. 09:17 You cannot, you cannot climb a mountain 09:20 that has nothing rugged about it. 09:22 The roads that are ahead of us, 09:24 in the world Satan has so artistically 09:27 made the world look like, it is a smoother road. 09:31 That's why major cities have 09:32 all adopted the phrase Broadway, 09:35 Main Street. 09:36 When you go to these major cities, 09:38 the lights are bright, 09:39 the entertainment is all around you, 09:42 it's calling to your attention, 09:44 it's giving you the impression that if you go down this road, 09:47 it's the road of fun, and joy, and pleasure, 09:51 but I've been around long enough to know 09:53 that the road that we go down 09:55 and Jesus is not down that road, 09:57 let me tell you brethren, you don't find lasting joy. 10:00 Can you say amen to that? 10:02 You find joy, but it's not lasting joy. 10:04 You find pleasure, but it's like a spike 10:07 and then it just dips as quickly as it took you up. 10:11 I think of the days 10:12 that I spent in my partying life, 10:15 in my night life, in my clubbing life 10:17 and as I walked down my road, 10:19 some of you in your own minds begin to walk down your road. 10:23 I remember being there 10:26 so inoculated by the noise of the club 10:29 that I can actually sit down in front of a speaker 10:32 that is thumping and just go to sleep. 10:37 Sit down in front of a speaker that's thumping, 10:39 that's shaking the wall of the club 10:42 and I could sit down there so benumbed to it. 10:45 Just fall asleep, 10:47 because my body had become 10:49 so inoculated by the things of the world 10:51 that it really didn't have any impact on me any longer, 10:54 but I remember the call of it and, you know, sin has a call. 10:59 Sin has a call, it has a voice. 11:01 It gets you to do things 11:02 that you never thought you would. 11:04 You find yourself going down the road 11:05 you never anticipated you'll be on. 11:09 I can see myself in New York City 11:10 in the freezing winter sitting on the train, 11:13 there's ice on the platform, 11:15 the doors of the train are open, it's freezing 11:18 and there I am sitting shaking, 11:20 shivering on my way to a party or club somewhere. 11:25 Sin holds us and does to us what God never intends. 11:30 But this morning we're going to find 11:31 that there is no road with greater blessings 11:34 than the road that God puts us on. 11:38 These two roads, the travelers on these roads 11:41 are opposite in character, opposite in destination. 11:44 And when you look at the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, 11:47 you'll find that from God's perspective, 11:50 now stay with me, 11:51 you all stayed up during the offering, 11:53 the children story, 11:54 don't let the devil put you to sleep now. 11:57 I have to start getting my water gun, 12:00 wake some of you folk up. 12:02 You'll wake up as soon as I say amen at the end. 12:05 Right now the devil is going to make some of you sleep, 12:08 stay awake. 12:09 Amen, somebody. Amen. 12:11 From God's point of view, there has always, 12:14 there have always been only two classes. 12:19 How many classes? 12:21 From the very beginning Cain offered to God what he pleased. 12:25 Able offered to God what he required. 12:29 From the very beginning, 12:31 there have always been only two classes, 12:34 there is no third class. 12:37 There are saints and sinners. 12:39 The wicked and the righteous. 12:41 The unbeliever, the believer. 12:42 The tares, the wheat. 12:44 The enemies of God, the friends of God. 12:47 The foolish, the wise. 12:49 The ungodly, the godly. 12:51 The wicked and once again the righteous. 12:55 The children of this world 12:57 and the children of the kingdom. 12:59 Those who live according to the flesh 13:01 and those who are led by the Spirit. 13:05 Let me tell you, 13:06 I want to be in the right category, 13:08 what about you? 13:09 This category is the category, let me say it emphatically, 13:13 this is the category that's getting ready 13:16 as Ivor was saying for Jesus to come. 13:20 And I want to tell you the reason 13:22 why the Lord hasn't come yet... 13:25 is because sometimes waiting 13:28 really tests whether or not you're waiting. 13:33 Let me say that again. 13:34 Sometimes you can wait so long that you get tired of waiting. 13:39 Let me encourage you this morning. 13:40 The Lord doesn't want us to just wait, 13:42 He wants us to work while we wait 13:45 for the coming of the Lord. 13:47 If you're busy doing something, 13:49 getting people ready for the coming of the Lord, 13:51 you don't get tired. 13:53 That's why He says in His word, 13:55 "Blessed is the servant 13:57 whom the Lord finds doing when He comes." 14:01 Whereas the Negro spiritual 14:03 keeps so busy working for my Jesus, 14:04 ain't got time to die. 14:07 If you're working for the coming of the Lord, 14:08 if you're getting people ready for the coming of the Lord, 14:11 you are so excited about what you're doing 14:13 that you don't have time 14:16 to rush Jesus to return. 14:23 As every day you wake up, 14:26 there's somebody else that needs to know Christ. 14:30 There's somebody else that needs to know 14:32 that what you have in the relationship 14:33 you have with the Lord is what they need. 14:36 In the parable of the two roads, 14:40 Jackson, they asked the question, 14:41 why is the wider road not the best road? 14:46 The wider road is not always the best road 14:48 because the wider road gives room for man's opinions, 14:52 for false doctrines, for man's preferences. 14:55 The wider road is a road 14:57 that does not have self-denial in mind. 15:01 As you notice about it... 15:06 The wide road does not scrutinize. 15:10 The life of the individual on the wide road, 15:12 we can do whatever we want on the wide road, 15:15 but when we get on the road that leads to eternal life, 15:19 there is a peering down, there is a decluttering. 15:22 Just a few weeks ago, 15:24 my wife and I started a project. 15:25 We've been now working diligently 15:28 to declutter our homes. 15:30 Some of you may have remember the sermon, 15:31 "A Clutter". 15:33 Remember that sermon, "Clutter". 15:35 We've been decluttering our lives, 15:38 and we are surprised to see that there are, 15:42 there were things in our house 15:44 that we didn't even know were still there. 15:47 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 15:49 But there is stuff in your house 15:50 that you don't even know is there, 15:52 you haven't touched it for at least two years 15:56 and what makes it even so, 15:57 what makes it even worse for us 16:01 is we have a shed 16:02 that's just about as big as our house. 16:06 Now it's not our house, it's not our shed, 16:10 but it would have helped if the shed was a lot smaller. 16:14 You notice the more space you have, 16:15 what happens? 16:17 The more clutter you have. 16:19 And so we have this new commitment, 16:20 we said, Lord, as soon as spring is official, 16:26 we're going to get one of those big green dumpsters 16:30 and I go from about here... 16:38 to here. 16:40 And we're going to get our gas masks or dust masks. 16:46 Get a rag to cover our heads 'cause I want to tell you, 16:51 if you spend any time in a shed 16:53 that all you do is collect junk, you know, 16:55 there is anything and everything in there. 16:59 That's the road that is broad. 17:01 It gives you room to take anything 17:03 and everything with you. 17:05 We can't... Let me say that. 17:07 We cannot take anything we have on this earth to heaven 17:11 but our character and secondly, 17:14 those that we have touched for Jesus. 17:20 So when you consider the contrast 17:21 between the sinner and the saint, 17:24 the wicked and the righteous, 17:25 consider also that in the midst of all of this unauthorized, 17:31 unrighteousness, 17:32 there is a longing in the heart of Jesus 17:35 that's expressed by a man who knows 17:38 what it's like to be redeemed. 17:40 2 Peter 3:9, notice what He says, 17:43 when God looks at the broad picture of the world 17:46 in which we live. 17:47 Listen to the heart of Jesus. 17:49 Here's what he said, 17:51 Peter the redeemed fisherman says, 17:53 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 17:59 as some count slackness, but..." He is what? 18:03 "Longsuffering toward us, not willing that..." 18:07 What? 18:08 "Any should perish 18:10 but that all should come to repentance." 18:12 That all should come to repentance. 18:16 How many? 18:18 You know, what I love about the Lord? 18:19 He's not willing to give up any of us to the enemy. 18:26 I think sometimes, 18:28 we're more willing to give ourselves to the enemy 18:30 than Jesus is to forfeit us to the enemy. 18:33 Because we're the ones going down that road, 18:36 but the goodness of God allows us time 18:40 and opportunity to examine ourselves, 18:43 and I don't want to tell you how old I am, 18:46 you probably already figured it out. 18:50 I'm past 40... 18:58 But the longer, the longer I live, 19:04 I got to say this, this is, the longer I live, 19:07 we've got, my wife and I have a new saying, 19:09 we are living with eternity in view, 19:14 not just heaven in view, 19:18 but eternity in view. 19:21 Come on, somebody. 19:23 You know, why? 19:24 Because you got to look, 19:26 when I was taking driver's head, 19:28 they always say look ahead of you. 19:31 Look as far ahead of you as your eyes can see. 19:34 They said don't look at the things 19:35 that are near to you. 19:36 In this world everything that's near to me 19:40 loses its hold on me 19:42 the longer God gives me the privilege 19:45 to travel this road called Christianity. 19:48 You know, you buy things, you get excited when you buy, 19:50 given a few days or few weeks, 19:52 all of a sudden it loses its hold, 19:53 and then the new thing come out and they send these magazines, 19:56 and I know why they do it. 19:58 If you love electronics, 19:59 all the electronic companies send you magazines. 20:01 Anybody know that? 20:03 If you like shoes, the Macy's catalog shows up. 20:06 Whatever you like, 20:07 they send catalogs to your house. 20:09 They gauge what you buy in Walmart. 20:11 When you go to Kroger, "Can I get your phone number?" 20:13 They track you, 20:15 they market to keep you inoculated 20:17 and connected to the world, 20:19 but the more you look in the distance, 20:21 the more you realize, 20:23 that what's on this side of the road 20:25 and what's on that side of the road 20:27 loses its appeal 20:29 when you keep your mind fixed on the eternal road. 20:34 Living with eternity in view. 20:36 One of the reasons why the road is broad. 20:40 In Signs of the Times, July 22, 1904, 20:43 Ellen White says, 20:45 "There is no need to search for the path 20:48 that leads to destruction." 20:49 You don't have to search for it because the path is wide, 20:52 the way is broad, and then she says, 20:55 "And the feet turn naturally into the path 20:58 that ends in death." 21:01 One preacher once said, 21:03 "All you've got to do to be lost is do nothing." 21:10 Don't have to try to be lost, 21:12 you just don't have to try to be saved. 21:15 All you've got to do to be lost is do nothing. 21:20 You don't have to do anything wrong to be lost, 21:24 just do nothing to be saved 21:27 'cause whether we know it or not, 21:28 we are all born on this broad road 21:32 that says to us do whatever, live however, 21:37 eat however, dress however, think however, 21:42 watch whatever, speak however, listen to whatever, 21:46 do whatever and just enjoy your life. 21:50 And even our country, 21:51 life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 21:56 And people today, I'm not happy. 21:59 What if the aim of God was not to make you happy 22:02 but to make you holy? 22:06 Happiness. 22:10 Happiness comes as a result of a holy life 22:16 and that kind of happiness is not caffeine supported, 22:20 it's God's holy blood supported. 22:24 Let me tell you why I said caffeine 22:26 because you get the spikes, you know, 22:27 the world give you spike happiness. 22:30 You get happy and all of a sudden the movie ends, 22:33 you take the video back, sorry, you take the DVD back. 22:39 And like you say, "Well..." 22:42 And then next thing you hear part 2 is coming out next May. 22:50 I remember growing up, 22:52 some of you might remember this, 22:54 you know, we used to be sinners. 23:01 Every now and then we go peruse YouTube 23:03 and see Die Hard, Bruce Willis. 23:07 Die Hard with a vengeance. 23:10 Then Die Hard with a vengeance on steroids. 23:13 Then Die Hard with a vengeance in Africa. 23:16 I mean, they did part 1, part 2, part 3 23:19 that the movie makers know how to keep us drugged, 23:22 come on somebody. 23:24 They know how to get us and, you know, 23:25 I found out, 23:27 I found out as somebody had revealed to me, 23:31 young man I did an interview with, 23:33 he said the movie makers today, 23:36 they literally experiment on people's minds. 23:42 They invite people into their, 23:46 what I might refer to as their laboratories 23:49 where they measure your mental responses 23:53 to what you see on the screen 23:56 and they measure certain portions of your brain to see, 23:59 if this portion gets more red, 24:02 they know that they are really scaring you. 24:05 But if they don't see as much impact 24:07 on that portion of your brain, 24:08 I'm not a doctor so I'm calling this portion. 24:12 If that portion is not as red as they like, 24:15 they know they have to amp up the frightfulness of it 24:18 until they get you to a point of almost terrified 24:21 and that's why kids nowadays, 24:23 I've heard some young people say, 24:24 I asked some young people they said, 24:25 do you watch scary movies? 24:27 They said, 24:28 "Oh, we like them really scary." 24:31 And you know what happens? 24:33 You cannot enjoy the outdoors like here in Thompsonville 24:35 because your greatest enemy is not what's outside 24:38 but what's inside. 24:39 We have people that visited us from New York City, 24:42 came to our house, 24:44 you've been to our house before. 24:45 The driveway and the doorway is not that far away 24:49 and they asked us to walk them to their car. 24:53 I said, "Walk you to your car, you are from New York?" 24:56 They say, "Yes, we can't see out here." 25:00 I was like that's all the more reason 25:01 why you don't have to worry about anything. 25:03 What you can't see won't hurt you. 25:06 They said, "Now, come on, walk me to the car." 25:07 And they were serious. 25:10 I said you're from New York and you're afraid out here. 25:15 You know what it is? 25:17 It's what's in here that messes with us. 25:19 The devil wants to control this. 25:21 If he can control this, 25:23 he can keep you on that broad path. 25:28 And that broad path contains every distraction 25:32 that keeps us from thinking about eternity 25:36 on that broad road. 25:38 Notice, look at Hebrews 12:1, 25:42 "Therefore we also, since we are..." 25:46 What? 25:47 "Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." 25:51 Look at this instruction, "Let us lay aside..." 25:55 What? 25:57 "Every weight, and the sin 26:00 which so easily ensnares us..." 26:02 Where as the King James Version says, 26:04 "The sin that so easily besets us, 26:08 and let us run with..." 26:09 What? 26:11 "Endurance, the race that has set before us." 26:14 In other words, let's break that down. 26:16 We've got to lay aside the sin that makes us fall so easily. 26:27 Got to lay aside our ways, 26:30 our will, our wrong habits. 26:35 We've got to lay aside our un-Christ like traits. 26:40 I think one of the reasons that 26:42 we don't see this is clearly as God intends for us to see it is 26:45 because the thing that is 26:46 in the way of God's will is our will. 26:50 The thing that keeps us going the wrong way 26:53 or that keeps us going from the right way is our way. 26:57 We'd rather hit this way. 26:58 You've heard the phrase 27:00 we've never done it this way before. 27:03 That's what the human nature does. 27:04 It wants to insist on its own way. 27:07 And if the Bible study 27:09 is not done at a particular time 27:12 or if it's not done at a convenient time, 27:14 then I don't want to be there 'cause it's not my way. 27:17 If you do it my way 27:19 and I almost fell into that trap one day, Bob. 27:21 I almost fell into that trap. 27:23 Lord said, "Don't fall into that trap." 27:24 I actually wanted to do a survey 27:27 that asked people write down 27:30 what's the best time for us to have Bible study 27:33 so that you can show up? 27:35 You know what the Lord said? 27:36 Nobody's going to agree on the same time. 27:40 And I said, 27:41 "But, Lord, how we're going to get people 27:43 to come to Bible studies?" 27:48 He said you can't do anything 27:50 to get them to come to Bible study. 27:53 If they can't come to me first, 27:55 they ain't coming to Bible study. 27:58 If they don't have a relationship with Me first, 28:00 there is no desire to study My word. 28:04 If you're not having Bible study 28:06 in your own house, 28:08 you ain't leaving your house on 32 degrees 28:09 to come and have Bible study in the church. 28:12 So I said, "Okay, Lord, well, spring is coming, 28:15 maybe they'll come out when it gets warmer." 28:16 We've been here spring, summer, winter, fall 28:19 and some of the same saints show up. 28:21 And somebody once said to me, 28:23 "Oh, I watched the program on television 28:25 and I saw some of the same people 28:27 that were there last week, that were there this week." 28:29 You know what I asked them? 28:30 "How come you weren't there?" 28:34 So I'm not asking you to come to Bible studies 28:36 because the issue is not the Bible studies, 28:39 is if you are not connected to Christ, 28:42 then there is no burning desire. 28:44 Bible says, 28:46 "Forsake not the assembling of ourselves together. 28:48 And all the more so, 28:50 seeing that day is approaching." 28:53 When you know that the plane is about to arrive, 28:56 I've seen it at the terminals, you know, 28:58 we go back sometimes we get to whatever the airport, 29:01 the layover is, we get there like three and a half hours 29:03 before the plane is going to leave 29:04 and you go to the gate, ain't nobody there. 29:07 You can sit in any seats you want. 29:10 Ain't nobody there, 29:12 but 20 minutes before the plane is leaving, 29:15 everybody is there, 'cause they know what time, 29:18 half hour, we get on the plane half hour before, 29:21 when we know that it's about time to get on, 29:23 my wife and I know this, we get on, you know, 29:24 we got status with American Airlines, 29:26 we get on 30 minutes before the plane leaves. 29:28 They say our status, we get on and, you know, 29:30 everybody still standing there, we get on, 29:32 we're excited about that, praise God for some privileges. 29:37 But everybody is there, 29:39 and I notice people are ready to get on 29:41 before they even get called. 29:46 I wish people would be that way 29:48 when it comes to coming to church, 29:51 Bible studies. 29:52 See this is tradition right here. 29:54 You just show up on Sabbath, that is tradition. 29:56 It doesn't require very much. 29:59 But to come on the day that's not traditional, 30:02 you got to really want to do that. 30:05 You've got to really want to do that... 30:09 Because there is no third road. 30:12 Matthew 12:30, look at, there is no third road. 30:16 He says, "He who is not..." What? 30:19 "With Me is..." What? 30:20 "Against Me, and he who does not gather with Me 30:25 scatters abroad." 30:30 At least one Bible study in ten years would be great. 30:41 That's why the road to eternal life is so narrow, 30:43 you cannot carry your duffle bag 30:45 of worldly possessions 30:47 or your garbage bag of self-centered ambitions. 30:50 It's a narrow road, it requires us to unload, 30:53 it requires us and just in case, 30:56 I may make it sound like the Christian life is hard, 31:00 don't forget the words of the wise man. 31:02 He said, "The way of the transgressor is hard." 31:06 It's not hard to be a Christian, you know why? 31:08 Because when you give your life to the Lord, 31:09 He moves in and begins to work out His will in us. 31:14 It's effortless, 31:16 because He is the one putting forth the effort. 31:18 All He wants is our participation. 31:20 He says, "Come to me as you ought, come, 31:22 I will not cast you away, 31:24 but then I would come into your life." 31:25 And it is God who begins to work in you both to will 31:30 and to do of His good pleasure. 31:31 God does that, but you'll never know that 31:35 unless you put yourself in the place 31:39 where the Lord can make a difference in your life. 31:41 You know, when you begin to look at the left road, 31:45 the way of death, and the right road, 31:48 the way of life, there is a stark contrast. 31:52 Turn with me the Psalms 1, go there in your Bibles. 31:55 Look at this, Psalms 1 is dedicated 32:00 to letting us know 32:01 that the entire theme of the Book of Psalms is 32:03 just simply two roads, two choices, two destinations, 32:07 two kind of individuals. 32:09 Look at the blessing that comes here. 32:11 The blessing, it's a beautiful passage, 32:13 Psalms 1. 32:16 The Bible begins and by the way, 32:18 the word blessed means happy. 32:21 And I'm reading this in the King James Version 32:24 'cause that's the version that's locked into my mind. 32:29 The Bible says, "Blessed is the man 32:30 that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, 32:34 nor standeth in the way of sinners, 32:37 nor sitteth in the seat of a scornful. 32:41 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, 32:44 and in his law doth he meditate..." 32:48 How often? 32:49 "Day and night." Now look at the blessing. 32:53 Look at the blessing. 32:55 And I'll be honest before I read this, 32:57 there's not a one of us in here 32:58 that don't need God's blessings in our lives. 33:04 For a little dedication, 33:07 God will pour into your life a ton of blessings. 33:10 Look at the blessing. 33:12 Verse 3, "And he shall be like a..." 33:14 What? 33:15 "Tree planted by the rivers of water, 33:18 that bringeth forth his fruit in his season." 33:20 In other words, what you plant is going to happen 33:23 as you plant it because God is going to bless it. 33:27 "His leaf also shall not wither..." 33:29 And look at this, 33:31 "And whatever he doeth shall..." 33:32 What? Prosper. 33:34 Whatever he does that is in harmony with God's will. 33:36 Whatever he does is going to prosper. 33:38 But now look at the contrast, verse 4, 33:42 "The ungodly are not so, 33:45 but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 33:49 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, 33:53 nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 33:56 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous 33:58 but the way of the ungodly shall..." 34:00 What? 34:01 "Shall perish." 34:04 Let's go down the road of blessings. 34:05 Go to Deuteronomy 28, let's go quickly now. 34:08 Deuteronomy 28, we are reading through the Bible together. 34:12 Deuteronomy 28 has 68 verses, 34:17 14 of those verses are describing 34:22 God's willingness to bless us... 34:32 But 53 verses are describing how God would curse you 34:38 if you don't want His blessings. 34:41 Now I want to tell you this, 34:43 God is not the kind of God that wants to curse you, 34:45 but when you step on, when you step from 34:48 under the umbrella of God's blessings, 34:51 you're gonna get wet. 34:56 You cannot step out from 34:57 under the canopy of God's blessings 34:59 and expect to stay dry. 35:01 So when you read, as you gonna do at home, 35:04 you're gonna go home and read from verse 15 to 68 35:06 and you're going to stop along the way and say, 35:08 "Lord, have mercy. 35:09 Please give me the heart to do right." 35:13 Look at the first blessing. 35:15 Boy, I mean, it's all highlighted, see that, 35:19 it's highlighted. 35:21 You know what? I didn't highlight one curse. 35:26 I didn't highlight one curse 35:28 'cause I ain't planning on getting cursed by God, 35:31 come on somebody. 35:32 I highlighted the blessings, 35:34 I don't need to remember the curses are. 35:40 I read that and I said, 35:41 how did they come up with stuff? 35:45 So I'm happy about the blessings. 35:47 I want the blessings. 35:49 I ain't planning for hell. Amen somebody. 35:53 I'm calibrated, locked in and by God's grace, 35:56 I'm going to make my steps to the kingdom a step at a time 36:00 during the day, 36:01 a day at a time during the week, 36:03 a week at a time by God's grace during the month, 36:06 a month at a time by God's grace during the year 36:08 and before you know it, as the song says, 36:10 we put one foot in front of the other, 36:13 that's all God wants you to do by His grace, 36:15 you can't do it on your own. 36:17 Look at this blessing. 36:19 Look at this blessing, Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 36:22 "Now, it shall come to pass..." 36:24 And when God said, it's going to come to pass, believe me, 36:27 "If you..." What? 36:30 "Diligently..." 36:31 That means meticulously, conscientiously, persistently, 36:35 thoroughly, 36:37 "If you diligently 36:38 obey the voice of the Lord your God..." 36:43 I got a wake up call from God. 36:45 He said, "John, I mean meticulously. 36:48 I mean conscientiously, I mean persistently, 36:51 I mean thoroughly." 36:54 We keep the commandments but do we do it meticulously 36:57 or conscientiously or persistently? 36:59 He said, "If you diligently 37:01 obey the voice of the Lord your God 37:02 and observe how? 37:04 Carefully..." 37:06 That means cautiously, wisely, vigilantly, sensibly, 37:10 if you observe carefully, obey diligently, 37:13 look at what He will do. 37:18 "That the Lord your God will set you high 37:21 above all nations on the earth. 37:24 And all the blessings shall come upon you 37:27 and overtake you, 37:29 because you obey the voice of the Lord your God." 37:32 I don't know if you caught that. 37:34 He didn't just say the blessings 37:36 will come upon you, 37:37 He said the blessings will overtake you. 37:39 Your blessings will move faster than you can. 37:42 Come on, somebody. 37:44 How many need a blessing like that? 37:46 The blessings are coming so fast, 37:48 you can't catch them. 37:52 This is not just words, 37:56 this is God's promise. 37:58 He said, I'll bless you so rapidly 38:01 that you won't even be able to catch the blessings 38:03 that are going to come so fast. 38:04 They're going to overtake you. You want an illustration. 38:06 Go down to the beach and try to outrun the waves. 38:19 And He says in verse 3, 38:22 boy, He gets specific. 38:25 This is some good stuff. 38:28 No amen required. 38:33 "Blessed shall you be in the city, 38:36 and blessed shall you be in the country." 38:40 When you go to New York, you gonna find blessings, 38:42 when you go to Thompsonville, you're gonna find blessings. 38:46 No matter where you go, Jim, 38:48 the blessings going to be there waiting for you. 38:53 But then He didn't just say it's going to be there 38:56 just waiting for you, 38:57 He's going to do something with the blessing. 38:59 Verse 4 and 5, look at what He's going to do. 39:03 He says, "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, 39:06 the produce of your ground, 39:09 you herds, the increase of your cattle 39:12 and the offspring of your flock. 39:14 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl." 39:19 Well, God is in essence saying, 39:21 He says everything you have, everything you have, 39:25 I'm going to bless it. 39:28 Everything you have, 39:30 and when I read that, the reason why... 39:33 And, you know, 39:34 my sister-in-law made this observation, 39:36 praise the Lord for that. 39:39 My sister-in-law made this observation. 39:40 She said, you guys don't just read your Bible, 39:43 you read your Bible. 39:45 I mean, you slowly study it. 39:48 The Bible is like 39:49 a cold drink of water on a hot... 39:57 Yes. 40:00 The Bible is like the best strawberry milkshake 40:03 you can ever have. 40:05 Sorry you vegans, hold on. 40:09 Lacto-ovo. Yeah. 40:12 It's the most refreshing experience you can have 40:15 and when you begin to read the Bible 40:17 and you're looking for God, 40:19 all of a sudden you start noticing things 40:21 that happened in your life. 40:22 You start noticing answers to prayers. 40:25 They come so rapidly that you start saying, 40:27 "Wait a minute, God's got... now..." 40:33 Wow... 40:37 you say, "God's got to be real." 40:41 There's no way that, 40:43 that prayer could have been answered the way it was prayed 40:46 but God did it. 40:51 And I'm beginning to get to the place, 40:53 let me rephrase that. 40:54 We are at the place 40:56 where reading the Bible is exciting. 41:00 You know, why? 41:01 'Cause you want to hear what next God is going to say. 41:05 Now we did read all the curses, 41:07 but I didn't highlight one of them 41:11 'cause I don't need to remember any of them, 41:13 'cause I'm not stepping into the left lane anymore. 41:18 And I'm asking God to keep me out off the left lane, 41:22 we all want to be in the right lane. 41:24 What do you say? 41:26 He says, I'm going to bless every possession you have, 41:28 but that's not, He didn't stop yet. 41:30 He didn't stop there, He says, 41:32 "I'm going to bless even the way you walk." 41:34 Look at verse 6. 41:37 He says, "Blessed shall you be when..." 41:41 What happens? 41:43 "When you come in, 41:46 and blessed shall you be, when..." 41:49 What happens? 41:50 "When you go out." 41:51 You're going to be blessed coming home, 41:53 you're going to be blessed leaving home. 41:55 When you go out, blessings are waiting for you. 41:56 When you come home, blessings are waiting for you 41:59 unless you have never been to the place 42:02 where you have wanted to be blessed, 42:04 you cannot understand the power 42:06 and the promise that are contained in these verses. 42:10 When you live the life that God asks you to live 42:12 and you put this before the Lord. 42:14 Have you ever heard the phrase claiming the promises? 42:19 Say, Lord, you said. 42:22 You said, "Blessed shall I be when I come in, 42:25 and blessed shall I be when I go out." 42:27 Lord, you said, and by Your grace and strength 42:31 I've done my part to Your glory and honor. 42:33 I'm not saying You owe me anything, 42:35 but, Lord, I've done what You asked me to do, 42:38 can You show me Yourself? 42:40 And I tell you, God does it in such a way 42:42 that only if you've been there can you know 42:46 that the blessings are really from God? 42:48 I don't know how you can read these things, 42:51 pray the prayer, ask God by His Spirit 42:53 to lead you in that direction, 42:55 experience this and still wonder 42:58 whether or not God is real. 43:01 There's no way. 43:09 But God didn't stop talking yet. 43:12 Verse 7, 43:14 "The Lord will cause your enemies 43:16 who rise against you to be defeated 43:19 before your face, 43:22 they shall come out against you one way 43:25 and flee before you seven ways." 43:31 I never forgot reading 43:32 what Ellen White talks about in prayer, 43:34 when we did our prayer here. 43:36 Ellen White says that the weakest saint, 43:39 the weakest saint, 43:42 when they call upon God in prayer, 43:44 the weakest saint is more than a match 43:51 of all the evil angels, 43:53 all the evil angels of hell 43:55 can't do anything to the weakest saint 43:59 that calls upon God in time of need. 44:04 You don't have to be able to fight, 44:07 you just got to pray. 44:09 You've got to order your steps and pray. 44:17 That's why I like Proverbs 16:7. 44:21 Solomon ought to know that, he said, 44:23 "When a man's ways please the Lord, 44:27 He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." 44:33 I remember years ago 44:38 being in the place where God had to fight battles for us. 44:45 And I want to tell you the same Lord that brought us 44:47 through difficulties in our lives is the same God 44:50 that wants to bring every one of us 44:53 through the difficulties in our lives. 44:57 But He can't do it. 44:59 The promise here is when your way, 45:02 when the way you live pleases the Lord, 45:06 He quells the battles around you. 45:09 Remember, you read in the book I think it's 2 Kings where Asa, 45:12 the Bible says, Asa had peace in all the days of his reign 45:16 because he did what pleased the Lord. 45:21 Asa had a change of heart 45:23 and God quelled all of the surrounding nations, 45:26 the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Hivites, 45:30 the Perizzites, they all tried to come up against Israel 45:33 but God changed their mind 45:35 and their attitude about Israel, 45:37 and they wouldn't even attack Israel 45:39 because God made them not even consider Israel 45:43 that way anymore. 45:45 God changes the mind 45:47 those that will come up against you. 45:49 But God is not done yet. 45:52 Look at verse 8. 45:53 Look at verse 8. 45:55 If you've been wondering 45:56 why many of your problems are unresolved, 45:59 the issues may be your life. 46:02 The divine observation is 46:03 if you live a life pleasing to God, 46:05 He will fight your battles for you. 46:09 Deuteronomy 28:8, 46:12 "The Lord will command the blessing on you 46:14 in your storehouse 46:17 and in all to which you set your hand, 46:19 He will bless you in the land 46:22 which the Lord your God is giving you." 46:24 Who's going to bless you? 46:26 God is. 46:27 God's going to bless you. 46:30 David said it, "I've been young, 46:32 now I'm old, I've never seen the righteous forsaken 46:34 nor their seed begging bread." 46:36 Can I tell you a story? 46:38 Thank you. 46:44 I remember telling you a story years ago 46:46 when I was a young pastor in a church 46:47 up in the mountains of Weaverville, California. 46:49 By the way, they're inviting us to come 46:51 and be the speaker for their 50th anniversary 46:53 and in April, we're going to be 46:55 in the mountains of Northern California, 46:57 way up there in the attic, way up there, way up there. 47:02 Way up there where you can drive off the road 47:03 if you don't stay awake. 47:05 No guardrails. 47:06 Make your stomach hurt driving up there. 47:10 I remember saying that one Sabbath morning 47:14 and I had a $75 charge for insurance 47:17 and God's tithe and offering was $75 and I said, 47:23 "Okay, Lord, I'll pay my insurance 47:24 and I'll give you Your tithes and offerings later." 47:32 When my elder prayed 47:35 and it was about my turn, 47:37 two more stages in the bulletin, 47:39 I said, "Okay Lord, I got it." 47:41 I heard him say, 47:42 "You can't speak for me if you can't trust me." 47:47 And I return to God what belonged to Him 47:49 and God tripled it before the day ended 47:53 with a check that came in the mail 47:54 from somebody I never knew. 47:55 Let me tell you something, that was then 47:57 but throughout our lives, every now and then 47:59 and some of you know what I'm talking about, 48:01 throughout your life, difficulty, 48:02 economic challenges come and God will every now and then 48:05 revisit you with an economic challenge 48:07 to see if you still have the same attitude 48:09 you had 25 years ago. 48:11 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 48:14 So funny it is, I preach this financial sermon, 48:17 preaches financial sermon. 48:18 Remember that, financial sermon few weeks ago, 48:20 making sense? 48:21 Right after that, this unexpected financial, 48:26 I said, "Wait a minute, where did that come from?" 48:30 And I dug down in my finances and made sure 48:36 and it left me skinny on the other side financially. 48:42 I thought, wow, gonna be tight this month, Lord, 48:48 we're going to slide by paper thin. 48:52 And the Lord said, "Remember 1988." 48:57 I said, "I remember 1988." 48:59 He said, "I am the same God, just go ahead and give Me 49:01 what belongs to Me, you'll be just fine." 49:04 And, you know what? That encouraged my heart. 49:06 God tapped me on the back of my head and said, 49:08 "Remember 1988?" 49:09 I remember 1988. 49:11 Go ahead and do what you're supposed to do 49:12 and it'll be all just fine. 49:14 And I would tell you, I could stand here this morning 49:19 God is faithful all the time. Can somebody say amen? 49:22 Verse 9 and 10, let's get this thing done. 49:24 You guys are slowing me down. 49:28 "The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, 49:31 just as He has sworn to you, 49:33 if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God 49:35 and walk in His ways, 49:37 then all the peoples of the earth shall see 49:39 that you are called by the name of the Lord, 49:42 and they shall be afraid of you." 49:44 Who else can do that but God? 49:47 Verse 11 and 12, 49:49 "And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, 49:52 in the fruit of your body, 49:53 in the increase of your livestock, 49:55 in the produce of your ground, 49:57 in the land of which the Lord 49:58 swore to your fathers to give you. 50:00 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, 50:06 and to bless all the work of your hand. 50:08 You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow." 50:15 Sometimes God allows adversity to distract us, 50:18 but remember through much tribulation, 50:19 we will enter the kingdom of heaven, 50:21 that's just gonna happen. 50:23 But verse 13 and 14, 50:30 you shall be above only, and not beneath, 50:34 if you heed..." 50:35 Look, "If you heed commandments of the Lord your God, 50:39 which I command you today, 50:41 and be careful to observe them. 50:43 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words 50:47 which I command you this day, to the right or to the left, 50:50 to go after other gods and to serve them." 50:53 God wants to bless us. Who wants to be blessed? 50:56 I am gonna end with the story. 50:59 Story was most tragic story. 51:02 Thanksgiving weekend, 2006, 51:06 husband Jamie, his wife Katie and their daughters, 51:09 7-month-old Sabina and 4-year-old Penelope, 51:15 they were traveling, going to visit family, 51:18 they had had Thanksgiving in Seattle, Washington. 51:20 Jenny, you can come up. 51:22 Right after this we're going to have our closing song. 51:26 They were traveling 51:32 and their plan after that was 51:33 to go down to Gold Beach along the Oregon Coast 51:37 about 140 miles away. 51:39 Never having traveled that way before, 51:42 they left San Francisco on Friday November 17th 51:45 and they did this long drive, they made it to their family, 51:47 they had a wonderful time, 51:49 according to the reports 51:50 after spending the holiday with their family, 51:52 they began this 140 mile trek down 51:55 on their way to Gold Beach, 51:58 off the coast of Oregon. 52:01 Well, the husband Jamie never having traveled 52:03 that way before. 52:06 According to reports, 52:10 Jamie took a wrong turn. 52:13 He was in the unfamiliar back roads of Oregon 52:18 and he took a wrong turn 52:21 and he went on a logging road. 52:24 Well, rather than coming back out of that logging road 52:27 that he had gone down when he realized 52:29 he had gone down the road, 52:31 reports said 52:33 he decided to keep going down that road 52:34 and make another turn 52:37 only to have his wife, himself 52:41 and their two young children stuck on a road 52:45 that was packed with snow 52:47 that does not get plowed until the spring season. 52:52 And there he was 52:54 according to reports 52:56 they were there for a number of days. 52:58 They began to ration their fuel. 53:00 The temperatures began to drop. 53:01 They couldn't find their way out. 53:04 They would run the fuel at night 53:06 when the temperatures drop to keep the car warm. 53:08 They had some pies with them 53:11 that they hail from the family outing 53:13 that they had together at Thanksgiving. 53:15 They had some goodies, some chips, 53:16 some little things for the children 53:18 that they rationed off as they ate 53:21 and the rain and the snow came down in buckets. 53:32 It got so bad, after they ran out of fuel, 53:34 that Jamie said to his wife, 53:37 I got it, Jack, let's take the tires off, 53:39 let's burn the tires for heat. 53:44 They went through one tire, 53:46 a second tire, a third tire, a fourth tire, 53:50 they burned all their tires, 53:51 the car was now flat to the ground. 53:54 And finally, the weather led up. 53:59 And Jamie with just a light jacket 54:01 and his tennis shoes, 54:03 he remembered he said about four miles away, 54:04 there's got to be a town. 54:06 So let me go ahead and take the time, 54:08 It's only four miles away, the weather's pretty nice, 54:10 it's cold but I think I can make it. 54:12 I'll be back tonight. 54:22 Two days later, now after 16.2 miles, 54:28 Jamie's lifeless body was found on a creek. 54:35 A pilot that had his own private helicopter, 54:38 he wasn't a part of a rescue, 54:39 they didn't even know they were missing, 54:41 he was not even part of the rescue team, 54:43 he was just flying around. 54:44 He said, he enjoyed flying, 54:45 he loved to see the wilderness life 54:48 and he saw the mother and her two daughters 54:51 walking on a deserted country road 54:55 and he radioed the local police department 54:59 and they found the mother, 55:02 Katie and the two daughters, 55:04 Penelope and Sabina and they rescued them. 55:09 And they said, what happened to Jamie? 55:10 They said he left two days ago. 55:13 The sad part of the story is, 55:16 when Jamie was found 16.2 miles later, 55:21 he was found one mile short of a winter lodge, 55:26 although it was closed, 55:28 they said they never locked the doors 55:30 because it was so isolated 55:32 It was packed with food, 55:34 clothing and all the supplies he would have needed 55:38 for his family to survive. 55:40 It made the San Francisco newspaper, 55:43 and the tragic part of that story 55:45 is best described by the wise man Solomon. 55:49 There is a way that seems right to a man 55:53 but in the end, it's the way of death. 55:58 Jesus is soon to come. 56:01 Jesus is soon to come. 56:05 As your pastor, 56:08 God has challenged me 56:09 to make sure I'm on the right road. 56:13 And I'm challenging you to go home 56:14 and take inventory of the road you're on. 56:18 It may look like the right road, 56:19 it may be smooth, it maybe the delightful 56:21 and may promise you all the attractions 56:23 that the world can throw your way, 56:27 but as you walk on this unfamiliar road, 56:30 you will not understand until your last step 56:34 that you've been on the wrong road. 56:36 Jesus is soon to come. 56:39 And my appeal to you this morning, 56:41 is there anybody here today 56:42 that wants to make this declaration before God? 56:45 It's not to me, this is to the Lord, 56:47 say Heavenly Father, 56:50 this morning I'm going to take my stand 56:55 because I want to be on that road to eternal life. 56:57 I don't want to chance it anymore 56:59 that maybe I'll get there eventually, 57:02 but I want to be on that road to eternal life. 57:07 If that's a desire that God may bring 57:09 to your heart this morning, 57:10 He may be speaking to you, He may be saying to you, 57:14 you've been on the wrong road for too long, 57:18 it's time to follow Me on the right road. 57:23 If there's somebody here this morning 57:24 that wants to make that dedicated stand, 57:26 want to make that commitment, 57:27 you want to stay on the right road. 57:28 And if you've been on the right road this morning, 57:31 you're standing say, Heavenly Father, 57:33 please keep me on the right road. 57:37 I want my savior to lead me all the way. 57:41 I don't want to be left to wonder 57:43 whether or not my journey is going to be safe, 57:45 I want the savior to lead me all the way. 57:51 And you can do that if you study His word. 57:54 He can do that if you confess your sin. 57:57 He can do that 58:00 if you're tired of the road that brings no satisfaction. 58:02 He can do that. 58:05 And He will do it. 58:06 And the blessings we read, the blessings we read about, 58:09 oh, my brothers and sisters, it's just the beginning. 58:14 He's more willing to bless us than we are willing to live 58:17 that life of blessing. 58:19 Father, lead Your people to live the life of blessing. 58:25 Not just because we look for things, 58:28 but because we're looking for Jesus. 58:31 We thank You for Your forgiveness, 58:33 for Your grace, for Your mercy. 58:35 In the wrong turns that we have taken, 58:36 we thank You that You have come after us, 58:39 Adam, where are you? 58:41 John, where are you? 58:44 When may we hear that longing voice 58:46 that calls us back to the right road 58:49 and may we respond to that voice, 58:51 Heavenly Father, before it is ever too late. 58:58 There are two roads, 58:59 life and blessings, death and cursings. 59:04 And, Father, today we hear You say choose life. 59:09 Lord, lead us all the way. 59:11 And when this journey is done, 59:14 we will meet You in peace. 59:18 We will meet You face to face 59:22 and we pray in Jesus' holy name. 59:26 Amen. |
Revised 2017-04-06