Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000027A
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00:30 But this morning, let us bow as we go before the Lord,
00:33 then we are going to read the scripture. 00:36 And then we are going to open our hearts 00:38 to allow the Lord to lead us. 00:40 Loving Father in heaven, this is Your time. 00:47 I am Your servant. 00:50 Speak to me and through me, 00:54 I pray in Jesus' name. 00:58 Amen. 01:02 In your Bibles, this morning, I'd like you to turn with me 01:04 to the scripture reading of the day. 01:11 I forget where I was 01:12 but it was just about a month ago. 01:17 Not that I need a new project, Pastor CA 01:20 because I have two, I haven't finished yet. 01:23 But the Lord impressed me to work on a new project. 01:26 If you're watching this sermon, don't steal my project. 01:32 We are all born with the... 01:35 It seems as though in the birthing room 01:38 that the doctor repeats to us John 3:16. 01:43 Because no matter where I go, 01:45 what the sporting events or not, 01:47 John 3:16 seems to be the most popular verse 01:52 ever quoted. 01:56 And so the Lord impressed me to write a little booklet 02:00 with a simple title "John 3:17". 02:04 John 3:17. 02:07 Because this verse to me, 02:10 encapsulates why we are called. 02:14 What a minister ought not do? 02:17 What a teacher ought not do? 02:20 What Christians ought not do? 02:24 And so this morning, walk with me 02:26 through what I refer to 02:28 as one of the verses that reveal 02:30 at the very cellular level, 02:33 why Jesus came. 02:37 Let's read this together. 02:39 Are you ready? 02:41 "For God did not send His Son 02:44 into the world to condemn the world, 02:48 but that the world through Him might be saved." 02:53 The ministry of reconciliation, 02:56 not the ministry of condemnation. 02:59 I was raised in an environment 03:03 where if the pastor didn't beat us up on Sabbath morning, 03:06 we didn't think we had church. 03:11 If we were not told how bad we were, 03:16 how swiftly we were going to hell, 03:18 how no good we were, 03:19 we didn't think we had church. 03:23 If our sins were not magnified and projected as it were, 03:29 if our sins were not trumpeted in all the categories 03:33 so emphatically chronicled before the congregation, 03:36 we didn't feel that we had church. 03:39 And we would say, "Pastor really beat us up today." 03:42 And we'd go home wounded and cut and bleeding. 03:46 But we'd come back the next week, 03:48 but that wasn't Pastor CA, I just want to make that clear. 03:53 I want to take bishop off the hook. 03:58 When you preach Jesus... 04:06 you cannot preach condemnation of the sinner 04:10 but you must preach condemnation of the sin. 04:16 There is no third choice. 04:19 Jesus came to condemn sin, 04:22 He did not come to condemn sinners. 04:29 As I was thinking about this, 04:31 I was asking myself the question, 04:33 "How many pages would this booklet need to be?" 04:38 And I thought to myself, 04:39 "If I don't determine that ahead of time, 04:41 it might become another book with more pages 04:43 than war and peace." 04:46 Because when you talk about the ability of Jesus 04:49 to see the vile sinner 04:52 and to forgive the most hideous sin, 04:55 we are talking about a Savior 04:57 who has come with a mission to seek and to save 05:02 that which was lost. 05:07 And I try to figure out what title can I get, 05:10 and so I decided to choose the title today "Undercover". 05:14 Well, needless to say 05:16 the title found its birth in a program I saw, 05:20 I think, once or twice called Undercover Boss. 05:25 I could tell by the reverberation 05:26 that many of you have peeked at that program. 05:32 It featured a high level corporate executive, 05:35 leaving the comfort of his suite, of his office, 05:41 of his limousines, of his palatial surroundings. 05:48 It pictures a man who has wealth that cannot be counted 05:53 or a woman who has wealth that cannot be estimated, 05:58 who is used to being driven to work, 06:01 who is used to being saluted. 06:02 "Good morning, sir. Good morning, ma'am. 06:05 Is there anything I can do for you?" 06:08 And at the snap of their finger, 06:10 they get a reaction without delay. 06:14 High level corporate executives who chose to go undercover 06:19 to find out what their employees 06:23 thought about them. 06:25 But to do so, 06:26 he had to remove himself from all the comforts of life. 06:29 And I've seen some of the beginning scenarios 06:31 where they showed the corporate executive going so far 06:34 as coloring his hair jet black, 06:40 choosing not to shave for two weeks, 06:43 to put on scruffy jeans 06:45 and give his address at a local motel 06:48 rather than his palatial mansion 06:50 somewhere on the isle. 06:52 And coming in to fill out a job application, 06:55 and sitting before and asking for whatever job he could have. 06:59 But he worked in such a way 07:02 that he was going to get in anyhow. 07:05 And he decided what parts of the company to visit. 07:07 So he began in the remedial places 07:09 and he puts himself under the control of an employee 07:16 wondering what he's going to get. 07:20 So he starts in the kitchen, 07:22 or the mail room, or the janitor. 07:24 And he says to the janitor, 07:26 "This is my first day on the job. 07:28 I don't know what to do. Can you tell me?" 07:29 And the janitor says, 07:31 "Well, I'm going to sweep, you mop." 07:35 And he says, "And don't miss the corners. 07:37 I know this is your first day on the job 07:39 but this company is really particular about 07:41 how clean its floors are, 07:42 so clean the corners very well. 07:45 And I'm going to inspect it, 07:46 and if I don't like it, you're going to do it over." 07:48 He's talking to the boss. 07:51 The boss humbles himself. 07:55 With all the authority within himself 07:57 to turn this employee 08:00 into a mound of sweating perspiration, 08:04 he humbles himself to take a command 08:07 from a lowly man at the bottom of the totem pole. 08:13 The story continues and he goes from one employee to the next, 08:16 and he gauges his final reaction. 08:18 And they are stunned 08:20 when they sit before him one day 08:21 as they are called to corporate office 08:24 to sit before the man, the woman 08:28 who has all the power. 08:29 And they walk in. 08:32 And in a very unusual way, 08:34 they, who have never met him before, 08:37 never met her before, they look and they say, 08:40 "Don't we know each other?" 08:43 And he says, "I told you my name was Mark 08:46 but actually my name is Jeffrey. 08:49 I'm the CEO of the company, have a seat." 08:52 And they sit down, 08:54 only to be told how much they are appreciated, how much. 09:03 He takes into estimation 09:05 their dedication to the mission of the company. 09:08 And then he continues to unfold before them 09:11 the gift, either financial or material, 09:14 I'm going to pay for your children's education, 09:16 I'm going to put aside a college fund, 09:17 I'm going to give you 09:20 to do what you will. 09:21 And they sit there only to realize 09:25 that when they succeed, he succeeds. 09:30 When he succeeds, they succeed. 09:35 And for the first time, they come to realize, 09:39 "Me and the boss are on the same level." 09:44 They have a camaraderie. 09:45 And from that day on, they go back to their position 09:48 and they serve him 09:49 with the tenacity and the dedication 09:52 unseen by any other employee. 09:55 You know, I believe, listen to me today, 09:59 I believe when we embrace 10:02 and come to the realization 10:04 that our dynamic, awesome, palatial, 10:09 ever living, glorious, 10:13 almighty God can come down undercover 10:18 through the back door of a manger in Bethlehem 10:21 and choose to lay with the cow and a goat 10:27 just to save me. 10:30 I want to talk to you about that man. 10:33 Excuse me. 10:37 He came undercover to find me. 10:44 And I'm going to walk you today. 10:49 I'm going to walk you today 10:51 and reintroduce you to a man 10:56 who is willing to lay it all down... 11:01 to find me. 11:05 And I'm going to try to do it 11:06 through the man named Levi, Levi Matthew. 11:11 Come with me to the entrance of the city. 11:16 And see a man standing 11:18 at the gate of the entrance of the city 11:20 asking for the tax to be paid upon entrance. 11:24 Levi stands at the entrance. 11:29 And in his position as publican and tax collector, 11:34 he loves to see people coming because he knows that today, 11:39 he's going to fill two pockets. 11:41 One for the city council, for the local IRS office, 11:47 and the other pocket for himself. 11:50 And he takes delight in choosing his victims. 11:53 What makes it even worse 11:55 than being a tax collector 11:57 is he is a Jew. 11:59 The Jews didn't like tax collectors at all. 12:04 But he chose to be hired by the Roman government. 12:06 And in his own community, 12:08 if there was a man that was hated, 12:11 it was a tax collector. 12:16 He was considered the lowest of the low, 12:18 he was under the radar. 12:21 He wasn't invited to dinners, 12:23 he was never thought of as a just man. 12:27 And rightfully so, because tax collectors 12:29 as you look at the word publicans, 12:31 they didn't have a good reputation 12:33 because they skimmed, 12:34 they even taught their under workers... 12:37 The publican was the guy at the top. 12:39 He was the one that supervised all the other collectors. 12:42 And as they brought to him, 12:43 they skimmed ones off of the first collection, 12:46 and then they skimmed off the profits 12:47 of all the guys that brought the collection. 12:49 So Matthew had a thick pocket on both sides, 12:52 and Jesus knew it. 13:03 While Jesus is entering Capernaum... 13:10 He approaches the toll booth where Matthew, 13:14 sorry, where Levi is sitting. 13:23 I would love to have been there 13:27 to see the look on Levi's face. 13:36 I don't know if he asked Jesus for a tax or not, 13:38 but Jesus greeted Levi 13:40 with the statement in Mark 2:14. 13:43 And the Bible says, "As he passed by, 13:50 he saw Levi, 13:53 the son of Alphaeus, 13:56 sitting at the tax office 13:58 and he said to him, 'Follow me.' 14:03 So he arose and followed him." 14:09 And I don't know why he did that. 14:14 But I can't help but to think that any time 14:16 you're in the presence of Jesus, 14:17 there's got to be something overwhelming 14:20 about His divinity. 14:24 When He spoke, 14:26 it was said of Him and recorded, 14:28 He didn't speak like other men, 14:29 He spoke as one having authority, 14:32 He didn't joke and jest, 14:34 but He was a happy individual. 14:37 He was not the guy cutting up in the party 14:42 but He was ever so cheerful. 14:45 He was the last one to speak 14:46 but His words were remembered 14:48 beyond all the other words spoken prior to His. 14:52 And there was a persona about Him, 14:55 you could only cover up so much divinity. 14:57 And I'm sure that every now and then, 15:00 the beauty of His divinity would flash through 15:03 in the eloquence and the pathos of His sympathetic words. 15:07 I'm sure He didn't say, "Follow Me." 15:11 He probably said, "Levi, follow Me." 15:21 But there is something about the textures of divine words 15:24 that finds within the heart of a man, a woman. 15:29 The sincerity of longing to be free from the condition 15:31 they were in, 15:33 and Matthew who Jesus renamed Matthew, 15:38 meaning the gift of Yahweh, He renamed him, 15:41 some expositor suggest 15:43 that Jesus changed his name from Levi to Matthew 15:47 so that in the community when they said, 15:50 "Is Levi coming to get the tax today." 15:53 "No. 15:54 Who's that sitting with Jesus? 15:56 It looks like Levi." "No, it's Matthew." 15:59 But it looks like Levi, but it's Matthew. 16:03 I love it. 16:04 Jesus is a God who believes in anonymity for the sinner. 16:10 That's a big word, let me just break it down. 16:12 He believes in covering our past. 16:17 So instead of looking at Matthew, 16:19 as they looked at Levi, 16:22 Matthew is so touched by the welcoming words of Jesus 16:28 that he leaves, he drops his tax collector's pencil, 16:34 he leaves the books 16:37 and he exits the office 16:39 following Jesus on a journey for which he has no idea 16:44 about its itinerary, "Just follow me." 16:52 You remember the phrase, 16:53 "Follow me and I will make you?" 16:55 Wait, I said to follow Me and I will make you. 17:00 Unless you follow Jesus, He can't make you. 17:05 Forget about the fish. 17:07 If you don't follow Jesus, He can't make you. 17:10 Matthew could have said, "Thank you but I've got 17:14 some accounting work to do and check with me tomorrow." 17:17 He, for whatever reason, knew and you know what, 17:20 I believe that when those moments 17:22 where divinity connects with humanity, 17:24 and hopelessness connects to hopefulness, 17:28 when darkness is chased by divine light, 17:32 and apprehension with assurance, 17:35 I know that there are those moments 17:36 when you know that somebody pulls up 17:39 and says get in. 17:40 You don't say why, you get in 17:44 because you know this is not a basic 'get in' 17:47 but the journey is about to begin. 17:50 And here we are today, able to talk about Matthew. 17:53 So change, you see, the reality of it is, 17:58 Jesus looked under the surface of who Matthew was, 18:02 of who Levi was, to who Matthew could become. 18:06 He looked below the surface of what everybody else saw. 18:09 1 Samuel 16:7, the latter part of the verse 18:13 that often refers to Saul says this, 18:15 I'm going to just read the latter part of the verse, 18:17 "For the Lord does not see as men sees, 18:20 for man looks at the," what? 18:23 "Outward appearance but God looks at the heart." 18:27 He saw in this man. 18:29 And Ellen White comments on that. 18:31 She says, "God saw in this man a heart, 18:34 a longing heart to be set free, 18:36 a longing heart to be different, 18:37 a longing heart to know something 18:39 and have a different reputation 18:41 than what he had so far engineered for himself." 18:44 And I can say much of the reputation that we have, 18:48 we engineer it of ourselves. 18:53 We make ourselves who we want to be. 18:56 We are known by the life we live. 18:59 We are known by the choices we make. 19:01 We are known by the failures in our past 19:06 by the way we treat each other, we are known. 19:10 But I believe there comes a day 19:13 where Jesus can look at the worst of us, 19:16 and see the best of us. 19:18 Come on, somebody. 19:19 I believe before He finishes the work, 19:22 He sees the finished work. 19:25 I believe, He walks up to the project 19:28 and says, "Jim, follow me. 19:34 Donald, follow me. 19:35 Angie, follow me. 19:39 Brian, follow me. 19:43 Jorge, what do they say in Spanish? 19:46 que pasa." 19:49 I don't know what I just said. 19:52 "Follow me." 19:54 He can speak any language. 19:57 And He says it. 19:59 As on the day of Pentecost, 20:00 we hear them do speak in our own tongue, 20:02 the wonderful works of God, "Follow me." 20:06 Every nation, every kindred, every tongue, every people, 20:09 it is said in Revelation, 20:10 "They follow the lamb whether so ever he goes." 20:12 And let me make this point, 20:14 it is not up to us to know where He's going, 20:16 it is up to us to follow him 20:18 because He doesn't follow us on the path we choose, 20:20 He follows us on the path He chooses. 20:24 And it's a narrow path, 20:26 which means you got to leave some things 20:27 before you get on the path. 20:33 But I want to tell you, 20:36 I rather squeeze through a tight opening 20:38 and get into heaven... 20:44 than stay on this side of the opening 20:46 because I won't unload my stuff. 20:53 Why else do you think Paul wrote what he did? 20:55 In Philippians 1:6, he said, 20:57 "When Jesus looks at us, He said to us," 20:59 and this is what some of us need today, 21:01 we need the confidence. 21:02 What word did I just use? 21:04 We need the confidence. 21:06 Being confident of this very thing 21:11 that he who has begun a, what kind of work? 21:15 Good work in you will complete it 21:17 unto the day of Jesus Christ. 21:19 He didn't start what He couldn't finish. 21:22 Amen. 21:23 But some of us think He did. 21:25 Some of us look at ourselves, 21:27 I could imagine what Matthew's 21:29 alternative ending could have been. 21:31 You know, there are movies with alternate endings. 21:35 We now live in a world with alternate facts. 21:39 Fake news, real news, but Jesus is good news. 21:45 I could imagine what Matthew's end would have been 21:48 if he had said to Jesus, "No, I got work to do. 21:53 Not today." 21:54 Do you know... 21:59 that when blind Bartimaeus said to Jesus, 22:02 "Don't pass me by," 22:04 that was the last journey 22:06 Jesus was taking through that portion of the city. 22:09 If he had not reached out to Him, 22:11 then he would have not had the deliverance. 22:14 If the woman who had been bound for 12 years 22:19 with the issue of blood did not say to Him, 22:22 "If I could touch the hem of Your garment," 22:24 she would never have been made whole 22:25 because it was the last journey 22:27 that Jesus was taking through that region, 22:31 in that village before He made it to Calvary. 22:33 You see, in so many of our lives, 22:35 we come to the last journeys. 22:37 We never know when it's going to be, 22:39 but if Jesus ever extends to the invitation to follow Him, 22:42 follow Him, let Him make you. 22:50 And I've been through a whole lot of following journeys. 22:56 But I'm getting to the place, 22:59 you know, this week I looked in the mirror 23:00 and I thought, "Man, I don't know 23:02 if it's a white light in my bathroom," 23:05 because white light makes 23:06 your hair look grayer than it actually is. 23:11 Have you notices that? 23:12 If you use a yellow light, it looks better 23:15 but white light accents. 23:17 Come on, JD, say amen. 23:20 But white light accents the gray, 23:22 it makes it look super gray. 23:26 And I say to my wife, 23:27 "Now when we celebrate 23:29 our 35th anniversary next year," 23:31 she said, "Now you're gonna color your hair." 23:36 I said, I don't know. 23:39 If I get a command on my... 23:41 But I think she'll let me keep it. 23:45 But there are those moments, there's a reason for that. 23:48 There are those moments 23:50 when the gray reminds you of the lessons you've learned 23:52 when it was black. 23:55 And when the first gray strand showed up, 23:58 you remember that lesson. 24:00 And the day you pulled out which you don't do anymore... 24:07 because you know what the end of the story would be. 24:10 Pastor CA made that mistake, 24:14 pulling out the greys. 24:16 I love him. 24:20 But everything about our life is a journey, 24:22 everything about our life is a journey. 24:25 When Jesus called me, I could not fathom 24:29 that I would go through what I did, 24:31 make the choices that I did, 24:33 go to the pitfalls that I did, 24:36 fall down and get up, and get up and fall down. 24:40 You know, the Bible says, 24:41 "A righteous man falls down seven times 24:44 but he gets up." 24:45 Amen. 24:52 And when I read John 3:17... 25:03 When I read John 3:17... 25:08 Donna, when I read John 3:17, 25:13 I found hope again 25:18 because it's hard to live in a world like ours. 25:22 And even in the Christian community, 25:26 not to feel condemned sometimes. 25:33 And then I read the words 25:34 of the only man that could do it. 25:36 And He says, "I didn't come to condemn you. 25:41 I came to save you." 25:46 One of the failures of the Christian 25:47 is that we don't see Jesus as He is, 25:51 and we don't see ourselves as He sees us. 25:56 Go to 1 John 4:17. 25:58 1 John 4:17, look at how He sees us. 26:11 The beginning of this verse is just as important as the end. 26:15 As He sees us. 26:21 He writes, "Love has been perfected among us in this." 26:26 Let me not rush. 26:27 What it means in the beginning of the verse, 26:29 what it's saying is 26:31 that we finally get it about the love of God. 26:35 When love brings security in us about our standing before God, 26:41 He says, "Ah! 26:43 It's perfect now." 26:45 When we embrace with the rest of the text, 26:49 when we see ourselves the way He sees us 26:52 not as we are but as we can be, 26:56 we say, "Only love 26:59 could see me in the final phase 27:03 and not condemn me in the present phase." 27:07 That's what He's saying. 27:08 Read the rest of the verse, 27:09 "That we may have," what? 27:12 Come on, talk. 27:13 We have may, what? 27:15 Boldness in the day of... 27:16 How many of you want to look at the judgment and say, 27:19 "I'm not afraid." 27:20 Amen. 27:22 I used to be raised in a church where, 27:24 "We are living 27:26 in the antitypical day of atonement." 27:27 That's right. 27:32 But the rest of the sermon made me feel like 27:35 I was going nowhere 27:38 until I did this, and I did that, and I did that, 27:43 and I did that, and I did that, and I did that, 27:47 and I gave up that, and gave up that. 27:51 And I thought I can't do it, 27:54 but I still came to church. 27:59 I had a conversation 28:01 with somebody earlier this week. 28:05 I'm going to read the rest of the text, 28:07 I didn't forget. 28:11 That said they were raised 28:14 in an Adventist community not like ours 28:16 but it was a number of years ago, 28:17 you know, the Adventist church went through some transitions. 28:19 It was a time when we were law, law, law, law, law, law, law. 28:22 Anybody remember that? 28:23 Law, law, law, law, law. 28:27 Condemn, condemn, condemn, condemn, condemn. 28:29 We were not fire and brimstone preachers 28:31 but we'll get real close. 28:34 We were not on the way to hell preachers 28:36 but we had so much do's and don'ts. 28:39 It was the generation when you counted 28:40 how many tracks you gave out, 28:42 how many people you witness through this week, 28:45 how much money you got in gathering. 28:46 Remember those days, Karen, Mitch? 28:48 And surely if you got $200, 28:50 you were more righteous than the person that got $30. 28:52 And they give you a plaque 28:54 and brought you before the church. 28:55 And everybody else felt like they were peons 28:56 because they only got $7. 28:59 So they're going to try harder next year. 29:01 In one of our churches, 29:02 Pastor CA knew who I'm speaking of. 29:03 One of our members in Bethel won every year. 29:07 He always got the gold every year. 29:10 People wondered how could they beat him. 29:12 They were more concerned about beating him 29:15 than they were about serving Jesus. 29:20 We were statisticians of righteousness 29:23 until I realize it is God who works in us 29:28 both to will even to bring the desire out and then to do. 29:32 If we simply yield ourselves to Him, 29:35 we begin to see ourselves in the final stage 29:39 as He sees us in the present stage. 29:41 Look at the rest of the text. 29:44 Because as He is, is that present tense? 29:48 So are we, when? 29:51 In this world. 29:53 End of 1 John 4:17, as He is. 29:57 How is He? Somebody tell me. 29:59 He's righteous. He's holy. 30:01 He's lovely. He's divine. 30:04 As He is. 30:05 When we come to Him so are we now. 30:11 Can I get an amen? Amen. 30:13 Not going to be, but now. 30:16 You see we've used the phrase 'sinner' to define ourselves, 30:20 how can you be a sinner and come to Jesus 30:23 and still be a sinner? 30:27 Something wrong with that. 30:29 Read your Bible. 30:31 Paul said, "Greet the saints in Rome, 30:34 greet the saints in Ephesus, 30:36 greet the saints in Corinth. 30:38 When you come to Jesus, you were a sinner 30:42 but you are now a saint by His righteousness." 30:48 But so many of us live in that, "I'm only human," 30:55 rather than we have become partakers of a divine nature, 31:01 having escape the lusts that are in the world. 31:06 And then we don't realize, it is no longer I who live 31:09 but Christ who lives in me. 31:13 The life that this old broken body lives, 31:16 I now live by faith in the Son of God 31:19 who loved me and gave Himself for me. 31:24 You know, I believe 31:26 that there will be a revolution in this denomination 31:30 if we really preach righteousness by faith. 31:35 Forget about the Revelation seminars, 31:37 we've had a million of those. 31:40 I don't mean to... 31:41 I got invited to do a Revelation seminar. 31:43 I understand there's not a production issue 31:46 but I did ask, "Can I preach about Jesus instead?" 31:52 So since I didn't get release from the Revelation seminar, 31:55 I'm going to use Revelation to preach about Jesus 31:58 because He is in there, the Revelation of Jesus. 32:04 Because beasts got their place, 32:06 plagues got their place, 32:09 the woman on the beast got her place, 32:13 but Jesus has His place. 32:16 When all those, where there are prophecies, 32:19 the Bible says they will cease 32:22 but love never fails. 32:27 I used to grow up thinking that sermons about love 32:29 were just like, "Oh, am I going to church 32:32 to hear a sermon about love? 32:33 Can you preach something else?" 32:36 Until I got captured by the love of Christ 32:40 that constrains me. 32:45 That has changed me. 32:51 That gives me hope in the morning. 32:55 And in our home, gives us victory. 33:03 Because I realize that nobody could salvage a wreck 33:06 better than Jesus. 33:10 Isaiah 61:1. 33:13 Look at it. 33:15 Jesus likes to fix broken and leaking things. 33:20 He likes to spend time renovating the falling 33:23 and refurbishing the valueless. 33:26 Isaiah 61:1. 33:37 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, 33:42 because the Lord has anointed me," 33:44 I'm taking this personally, 33:47 "To preach good tidings to the poor. 33:51 He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 33:57 to proclaim liberty to the captives, 34:00 and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, 34:06 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord... 34:14 And the day of vengeance of our God, 34:17 to comfort all who mourn, 34:19 to console those who mourn in Zion, 34:22 to give them," what? 34:24 "Beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 34:30 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, 34:35 that they may be called trees of righteousness, 34:37 the planting of the Lord that He may be," what? 34:42 "Glorified." 34:43 That's the message of the first angel. 34:45 Fear God and give glory to Him. 34:47 How can broken lives glorify God? 34:49 No. 34:51 Lives put back together can glorify God. 34:54 Lives that proclaim liberty to the captives 34:56 can glorify God. 34:58 Lives that says, I see your ashes 35:00 but let me give you a beauty instead 35:03 can glorify God. 35:04 You see, the glory that God wants 35:06 is not in just the proclamation of 28 fundamentals, 35:10 but the proclamation of freedom of liberty 35:13 of the opening of those doors that keep people bound 35:16 in the prison of circumstances. 35:20 And Levi knows what it's like. 35:26 He got a call that He responded to, 35:28 He had a dinner, Jesus got invited there, 35:31 and they didn't like it, and the publican said, 35:36 "Who is that?" 35:39 Look at Luke 5:28. 35:43 Diving back into the story of Matthew, 35:45 "Who is that?" 35:55 Not only did Matthew follow 35:58 but everybody else that Jesus invited follow. 36:01 I'm going to dive into another story 36:03 and come back into Matthew. 36:12 Speaking of the other disciples. 36:14 When they were invited, the Bible says in Luke 5:28, 36:18 "So He left," how much, "all, rose up," 36:23 and did what, "followed Him." 36:25 Matthew became the fifth disciple of Jesus. 36:31 He did what the other disciples did 36:34 when the invitation to follow Jesus came. 36:36 What many of us don't know is that 36:38 Peter waited a year and a half before He followed Jesus. 36:44 Andrew, his brother introduced him 36:46 but Peter hung out, and watched from a distance 36:49 until the invitation came to him. 36:51 So when you read the invitation, 36:53 it's powerful in the Book of John, 36:54 you see where Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus. 36:57 And then the next verse is a year and a half later, 36:59 when the Bible says He followed him. 37:01 Ellen White gave me that insight. 37:02 She said Peter studied Christ 37:04 but He didn't immediately commit himself to Him. 37:06 But when Peter committed himself to Christ, 37:08 Andrew fell off the scene. 37:11 That's why Peter had a lot of difficulty 37:13 because he only followed Jesus for a year and a half 37:15 out of the three. 37:16 He had a lot of bugs to work out in his life. 37:19 He didn't have the three year itinerary that Jesus had. 37:25 That's why he talks so much. 37:30 That's why he always stumbled over himself, 37:32 he was impetuous. 37:34 But when he got delivered, watch out, 37:36 the New Testament Church was not the same 37:39 because God lit Peter on fire. 37:42 Verse 11 speaks about this again, 37:44 speaking of Peter, James, and John, 37:46 the Bible reveals about these three disciples. 37:50 Verse 11 of John, I mean of Luke 5, it says, 37:53 "So when they had brought their boat to land, 37:56 they forsook all and did," what? 38:00 "Followed him." 38:01 You see when it comes to following Jesus, 38:03 let me put the gift of Jesus 38:05 in the most beautiful light today. 38:06 Lord, give me the words. 38:13 When it comes to following Jesus... 38:20 You can't anticipate what you're going to get 38:23 because you're going to be disappointed. 38:25 You know why, because you're going to get 38:27 better than what you anticipated. 38:32 You can say, 38:35 "We're just following Him for job." 38:39 And when He reveals to you who you are becoming 38:43 because of following Him, it even shocks you. 38:49 Today, we don't talk about the Pharisees, 38:51 we don't know their names, 38:52 we don't know the names of the scribes, 38:54 we talk about Matthew, Mark, Luke, John 38:56 because they followed Jesus. 38:58 Their names are immortalized, 39:00 their lives are now a testament to us 39:03 to what the Lord can do for us. 39:04 And every one of us, remember, every one of us is a disciple. 39:07 Didn't He say, "Go and make disciples of all nations?" 39:10 Didn't He say, "If you would be My disciple, 39:12 you must deny yourself?" 39:14 You see, when they forsook all, 39:16 let me give you the rest of the scenario. 39:18 And I've said this a thousand times 39:19 but allow me to say it one more. 39:22 I could never have orchestrated my life. 39:25 My wife and I could have never orchestrated 39:28 what has happened to us. 39:33 We couldn't pay for it. 39:35 We couldn't choose it. 39:40 We could never have experienced what we have. 39:45 That was done on the dime and the blood of Jesus. 39:50 So you don't ever give up anything 39:53 without getting much more in return. 39:57 You don't ever give up anything that's not placed with, 40:00 replace with something far better. 40:03 Doug and I was sitting down having lunch in the airport. 40:07 We love to have fun together. 40:10 You don't see the funny side of Pastor Doug Batchelor, 40:12 I said Doug but Pastor Doug Batchelor. 40:16 He's a fun guy to be around. 40:19 But he has the pressure of being in public all the time. 40:23 And he's a godly man. 40:25 We could sit down and we chronicle 40:27 our journey together, 40:28 we were sitting in the airport together. 40:30 He and I, and my wife, and Karen were sitting there, 40:34 talking about how God led us through the years. 40:38 And they were just two guys with our caps on, 40:41 I didn't do my hair. 40:43 He didn't have any hair to do, 40:46 waiting for our flights. 40:49 And we just sat there and just meandered 40:51 for the few minutes we had as we ate our lunch 40:53 before he got on to go to California, 40:55 and we got on the plane to go to Illinois. 40:57 We just talked about, "Look at us. 41:00 Could we have ever imagined this? 41:02 No. No." 41:04 So when Pastor Batchelor one day said to me, 41:08 "John, there's no way that you're going to go 41:10 to California without any prior theological education, 41:13 and be here for less than a year, and get a church. 41:17 There's no way that that's going to happen." 41:20 And I said, "Doug, God found you in a cave. 41:22 What are you talking about?" 41:25 We laughed about that. 41:29 We recalled our journey 41:31 of flying in a plane with no fuel, 41:33 looking for a place to land in northern California 41:35 on an evangelistic Sabbath morning. 41:37 My wife and his son, now deceased in the backseat 41:42 can't find the airport, it's socked in. 41:44 He's not an instrument pilot, switching between tanks, 41:49 trying to fly on flumes. 41:51 And we end up over the Pacific Ocean. 41:55 And turn around and by faith just pull the yoke up. 41:59 And God in His foresight, 42:03 knowing what His plan for us was, 42:07 allowed our plane to come up 42:09 between the peak of two mountains. 42:12 And we saw it maybe 30 feet to the right 42:15 and 30 feet to the left in the dense of fog, 42:19 our story could have ended a different way 42:21 but God, but God, 42:24 but God. 42:35 The devil would have loved to shut us up 42:37 that Sabbath morning. 42:38 We didn't get there for the sermon, 42:40 it was too late. 42:42 We got there for the closing prayer 42:43 and the closing song, 42:45 but we went back for the evangelistic series. 42:48 And here we are 30 years later, looking back at us, 42:52 older now, wiser now, grayer now, saying, 42:58 "Thus far has the Lord helped us." 43:03 You see, 43:06 if you give up your job, your alcohol, 43:08 your cigarettes, your lifestyle, your friends, 43:10 your pleasures, your opinions for Jesus, 43:12 you'll always get so much more. 43:20 Luke 14:33, look at it. 43:25 "So likewise, whoever of you 43:27 does not forsake all that he has 43:30 cannot be My disciple." 43:34 Quickly now, in Matthew 10:37. 43:36 If you are not fast enough, it'll be on the screen. 43:38 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 43:42 "He who loves father or mother more than Me 43:45 is not worthy of Me. 43:48 And he who loves son or daughter more than Me 43:51 is not worthy of Me." 44:00 So here we are, Matthew stands at the intersection 44:06 of all of his extortioned money. 44:10 Probably got a thick bank account. 44:13 Probably got some money hidden in his leather sack. 44:17 But he forsakes it and he follows Jesus. 44:24 And the Lord changes his name 44:27 from the one who Yahweh loves, 44:31 calls him the man that Jesus loves. 44:35 So I want to pause this morning 44:37 and take you through your journey, 44:38 Matthew 19:28-30. 44:40 Matthew 19:28-30. 44:43 I'm going to move a little more expeditious. 44:45 "So Jesus said to them, 44:48 'Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, 44:51 when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, 44:56 you who have followed Me," get this, 45:00 "You who have followed Me," can I say one more time, 45:04 "You who have followed Me 45:07 will also sit on twelve thrones, 45:12 judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 45:15 And everyone who has left houses or brothers 45:19 or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, 45:24 for My name's sake, shall receive," say it, 45:30 "a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life." 45:36 Praise the Lord. 45:39 I don't know anybody wealthy enough 45:41 that could guarantee that. 45:44 I don't know anybody wealthy enough 45:47 that can buy me a ticket to be with Jesus. 45:53 Ellen White says in Desire of Ages, 45:56 page 273, paragraph 2. 45:58 She says, 46:00 "There was no hesitation, no questioning, 46:04 no thought of the lucrative business 46:07 to be exchanged for poverty and hardship." 46:10 Speaking about Matthew, "It was enough for him 46:14 that he was to be with Jesus 46:17 that he might listen to His words 46:19 and unite with Him in His work." 46:22 When Jesus called Matthew, 46:24 he didn't think about the business, 46:25 he didn't think about hesitation, 46:27 he didn't think about the questions, 46:28 he didn't think about the hardships of the poverty. 46:30 He said, "All that I want to be able to be 46:33 is to be with Him, and to hear His words 46:36 and do His work." 46:39 But I continue in the next paragraph, 46:41 Desire of Ages, 273, paragraph 3. 46:45 "So it was with the disciples previously called 46:48 when Jesus bade Peter and his companions follow him, 46:53 immediately they left their boats and nets. 46:57 Some of these disciples had friends 47:00 dependent on them for support." 47:03 Did you get that? 47:05 Peter, you need to support. 47:06 If you don't, if you stop fishing, 47:08 what are we going to do? 47:09 Some of these disciples had friends 47:11 depended on them for support 47:13 but when they received the Savior's invitation, 47:16 they did not hesitate and inquire, 47:19 "How shall I live and sustain my family?" 47:23 They were obedient to the call. 47:25 And when afterward Jesus asked them, 47:29 look at Luke, Jesus asked them. 47:32 Luke 22:35, "Jesus asked them, 47:34 'When I sent you without a money bag, 47:37 without a knapsack, no sandals, did you lack anything?'" 47:41 And so they said nothing. 47:46 At ASI I was in the pool, 47:51 in the Jacuzzi. 47:54 And I saw this young Asian man on fire. 48:00 He was talking 300 miles a minute with gusts of 500. 48:06 I said, "Who is this kid?" 48:10 Wednesday night he was at our prayer meeting. 48:17 He said he was a video game addict. 48:20 He was a movie addict. 48:24 And he became a youth pastor and he said, 48:25 "On Saturday nights," what do you think He did, 48:29 "He invited the kids over to see a movie." 48:32 That's how addicted he was. 48:39 And somewhere along the way, he met Jesus. 48:43 Gave up everything, including job. 48:47 He has no income. 48:50 He receives no money from anywhere 48:53 on a weekly or daily basis. 48:56 Yet, he's booked 14 months in advance 49:00 to be speaking everywhere. 49:03 And everywhere he goes, all he has 49:06 is his clothes and a backpack. 49:10 And he says, "I'm happier than I've ever been before." 49:14 We said, "Can we get you to come here?" 49:15 He said, "I'm booked for year and a half. 49:19 And I've put out no invitations. 49:23 And I'm happier than I've ever been before." 49:25 He said, "I got into prayer. 49:29 And when I started prayer, I couldn't hardly pray. 49:32 But I prayed for a minute, then five minutes, 49:34 then ten minutes, 49:36 then one day I made it to an hour. 49:38 I introduced the young lady to prayer. 49:40 She said, "I don't like to pray." 49:42 She prayed for a minute, five minutes. 49:44 He said, "I have a prayer room. 49:45 I invited her to pray in." 49:47 He said, "One day the Lord got hold of her 49:49 and she prayed for eight hours." 49:52 He said, "When I call young people to pray, 49:54 they're tumbling over themselves to pray." 49:59 And he said, "I cannot live my life 50:02 without talking to God and reading His word." 50:08 "So where did you get income from?" 50:10 "I don't have an income. 50:12 People just give me stuff. 50:15 And I've never lacked anything. 50:17 God provide every need." 50:19 Did you ever lack anything? 50:22 They said nothing. 50:34 And so while Jesus is sitting and inviting Matthew 50:37 to come to this place of transformation, 50:40 my sermon's going to take a little twist today 50:41 in light of the time, 50:44 because I want to be true to what I just committed to. 50:50 Matthew went through one condemnation 50:52 after the other for following Jesus. 50:55 Jesus went through one condemnation 50:59 after the other, 51:00 for inviting Levi to be His disciple. 51:04 At the suppers, the Pharisees called Jesus 51:07 a friend of sinners. 51:09 I want to tell you that's the most beautiful statement 51:12 I've ever heard, a friend of sinners. 51:25 Ivors, I'm going to go to... 51:27 Mike, I'm going to Romans 8, my last two scriptures. 51:30 Romans 8:1 and 2. 51:35 You see Matthew was invited 51:42 to reveal the glory of Jesus, I'm winding up now. 51:47 I want to invite someone to come and play softly. 51:51 Matthew was invited to do one thing, 51:55 that is reveal the glory of Jesus. 52:01 What was he invited to do? Reveal the glory of Jesus. 52:07 And he lived in an atmosphere 52:09 of constant bickering and condemnation, 52:12 they saw him for who he was and not for who he had become. 52:19 But Matthew decided, "I'm leaving that with you." 52:24 As one preacher said, 52:27 "Where they're talking about it, 52:32 it doesn't matter. 52:34 And where it matters, they ain't talking about it." 52:44 Matthew went through the personal condemnation 52:48 to reflect the personal glory of Jesus. 52:54 But I want to encourage you this morning. 52:55 If you decide to follow Jesus, 52:57 there's only one thing that you can do, 52:59 and there's something that you don't have 53:00 to concern yourself with. 53:02 Romans 8:1, here it is, 53:04 this is what we must come to the realization. 53:07 When we are at the intersection of who we were 53:11 and who we can be in Christ, 53:13 we must remember that when we decide to follow Christ, 53:16 don't worry about what other people think, 53:23 because these are the words of a man 53:26 who knows this firsthand. 53:27 He says, "There is therefore now no condemnation 53:30 to those who are in Christ Jesus, 53:34 who do not walk according to the flesh 53:35 but according to the Spirit. 53:38 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus 53:42 has made me free from the law of sin and death." 53:48 God broke the law that held Matthew, 53:50 and put a new law in place that kept Matthew. 53:53 Matthew, he was already condemned, 53:55 Jesus came to free him. 53:57 He was already rejected, Jesus came to accept him. 54:02 Matthew was saved not because of what he gave up, 54:06 hear me carefully, 54:07 but because Jesus refused to give him up. 54:15 And so I'm going to challenge us. 54:17 As a people that sometimes one of the challenges 54:20 we have as a people that are still flesh, 54:25 especially when you know each other as well as we do, 54:28 it's easy for us to say, 54:30 "Did you hear what happened to so and so? 54:31 Did you know what went on this week? 54:33 Did you know what happened?" It's easy for us to say that. 54:36 But I'm going to ask Mike to put this final quotation 54:38 up on the screen. 54:41 And I want you to follow me very carefully. 54:43 This quotation is powerful. 54:44 I've been challenged by God to take a different walk 54:48 when it comes to looking at his children. 54:52 Testimonies for the Church, book 5, page 94 to 96, 54:58 "God's all-seeing-eye 55:02 notes the defects of all, 55:07 and the ruling passion of each. 55:10 Yet He bears with our mistakes and pities, our weakness. 55:17 He bids his people, cherish the same spirit 55:22 of tenderness and forbearance." 55:25 Can you say amen? 55:26 Amen. That's the check. 55:27 True Christians will not exalt in exposing the falls 55:31 and deficiency of others. 55:34 They will turn away from vileness and deformity 55:38 to fix the mind upon that which is attractive and lovely. 55:43 To the Christian, every act of fault finding, 55:46 every word of censure or condemnation is painful. 55:52 Painful to who? 55:54 To Jesus. 55:57 For I end with the text I began with, 55:59 and I invite you to read it with me in your mind. 56:02 "For God did not send His Son 56:05 into the world to condemn us, 56:11 but that the world through Him 56:16 might be saved." 56:19 Loving Father in heaven, 56:21 I want to invite Your people to stand today 56:23 as a dedication to wanting to reveal Jesus 56:26 to the world in them, in our conversation, 56:29 in our reaching out, in our love, 56:32 in our prayers for one another, 56:36 and our thoughts of one another. 56:45 You found us at a tax office. 56:50 You bid us to follow You. 56:53 And now today, we want to do what You have called us 56:59 and equipped us to do. 57:01 And that is to reveal Jesus in and through our lives, 57:07 but not just our own independent lives, 57:10 we want to be the vessels through which Jesus is seen 57:13 in others through us. 57:16 He's revealed to others by us. 57:19 So today, Lord Jesus, help us we pray. 57:23 Give us the desire and the willingness 57:28 to invite this great Savior to come in. 57:35 Live in us, work in us, 57:39 transform us from the inside out 57:42 that the undercover God may be revealed 57:47 beautifully before a world that needs a testament 57:50 of the transforming grace of Christ, 57:53 to a world that needs to know that 57:55 we serve a God who forgives and delivers, 57:58 who loves and cherishes, who has not come to tell us 58:04 what we know about ourselves but to tell us 58:08 what we don't know about our Savior. 58:11 Send us forth from this place, Lord, 58:13 as lights shining in this dark community. 58:20 And when the day comes that 58:23 the world is in abject darkness, 58:26 may the lights in the lives of Your children 58:30 shine so brightly that in the hour of judgment, 58:36 we will give You the glory that You are worthy of. 58:41 This is my prayer, Father. 58:44 Do it for me, do it for us, do it for the families, 58:49 the husbands, the wives, the children. 58:51 We pray that You'll anoint our young people 58:53 as they go away. 58:55 Shine through them, the young men, 58:57 the young women, shine through them. 59:01 Shine through Ferrer, this young lady 59:03 who's just committed her life to you, shine through her. 59:07 And may the glory of God 59:09 be always seen 59:15 in the hearts of those 59:18 that respond to the call, "Follow me." 59:22 In Jesus' name I pray. |
Revised 2017-09-28