Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO210059S
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00:28 Hello and welcome 3ABN Worship Hour.
00:30 I'm Pastor John Lomacang. 00:31 Thank you for taking the time to join us. 00:34 And if you've been joining us from week to week, 00:36 we thank you for 00:38 supportively coming to the place 00:40 where we believe God continues to give us messages 00:45 to strengthen and encourage your hearts. 00:47 Today, we're gonna take a different path. 00:50 I often talk about Bible prophecy 00:53 or end time events, 00:54 or maybe sometimes doctrinal topics. 00:57 But today, I want you 00:59 to really lean forward and listening 01:02 because we're talking about a topic entitled, 01:05 Just My Imagination. 01:07 We're talking about the place where we are born, 01:10 the place where we communicate 01:12 and how we can be 01:13 more effective in finding the victories 01:17 that can come to us 01:19 in the place of our thoughts and our imaginations. 01:22 Before I go any further though, 01:24 I'd like to bow and ask for the Lord's leading 01:25 and guiding in this message. 01:29 Loving Father, in heaven, 01:31 thank You for the privilege and responsibility of reaching 01:35 into the hearts and minds. 01:37 And even today, the thoughts 01:39 and imaginations of our audience, 01:41 we do pray that Your Holy Spirit 01:43 will guide and be the act of power to speak to us 01:48 and bring us to the place 01:50 of new beginnings and realizations. 01:52 And when this message is done, 01:55 may we find in You the power that we need, 01:59 not only to understand it, 02:01 but to implement it in our lives. 02:03 We ask in Jesus' name, I pray, amen. 02:09 Just my imaginations. 02:12 Sometimes things occur in our hearts and minds 02:16 that we wonder how they got there 02:20 and what we're going to do because they are there. 02:23 Today, in order to illustrate 02:26 the power of imaginations and thoughts. 02:30 Come with me to my past. 02:33 I'm gonna take you down memory lane to the place where, 02:36 when I was a young man, 02:37 there was a group called the temptations 02:40 that wrote a song that goes as follows. 02:43 And I want you to pay particularly close attention 02:47 to the lyrics 02:48 because as it is in the beginning of a show 02:51 or a documentary, 02:52 how this sermon begins is the mountain 02:55 on which we're going to built the remainder of it. 02:58 Listen carefully. 02:59 It talks about a man who was in love with the woman 03:04 of his dreams and desires. 03:07 And these are the lyrics to the songs. 03:10 Each day through my window, 03:13 I watched her as she passed me by, 03:16 I said to myself, 03:18 you are such a lucky guy to have a girl like her 03:24 is truly a dream come true. 03:27 Out of all the fellows in the world, 03:30 she belongs to me. 03:32 And he continues as he admire 03:34 so he said, soon we'll be married 03:37 and raise a family. 03:39 Oh yeah. 03:41 On a cozy little home, 03:42 out in the country with two children, maybe three. 03:47 And then he says, I tell you, I, I can visualize it all. 03:52 This couldn't be a dream 03:54 for it is too real, it all seems. 03:58 But the tagline says, 04:00 but it was just my imagination running away with me. 04:04 It was just my imagination running away with me. 04:10 I want you to think about that. 04:11 Think about that, friends, 04:13 just my imagination, running away with me. 04:17 Now, apart from the tagline and the chorus, 04:19 you might ask yourself, 04:21 I wonder what kind of woman she was. 04:23 The woman he looked forward to being with did not exist. 04:27 The woman he was singing and imagining 04:31 about was just a figment of his imagination. 04:35 So today, come with me 04:38 to the most amazing arena on the earth. 04:41 I welcome you to the CDC, 04:43 the character development center 04:46 of the human mind. 04:48 It is the place of the greatest victories 04:51 or the greatest defeats. 04:52 It is the birth place of beginnings and endings. 04:57 The mind is where success motivates us 05:01 and failure pursues us. 05:04 The mind is where the future happens 05:06 before it even comes to past. 05:09 It is where mountains come down and walls go up. 05:14 It is where we love and we hate at the same time, 05:18 but we love in our thoughts 05:20 and we hate in our thoughts 05:21 before any one of those actions come to pass. 05:25 Let me go a little deeper. 05:26 Some of us are beaten up by thoughts and imaginations 05:30 that don't have arms. 05:31 Multitudes of us are incarcerated by what we think 05:36 and what we imagine. 05:38 Others spend their lives dodging the results 05:42 of their own imaginations and their own thoughts. 05:45 And many, I say again, 05:47 many waste their lives 05:49 at the intersection of I thought, 05:53 and I imagined, but, friends, think about this. 05:56 The ability to think 05:57 and imagine permeates our entire existence. 06:01 Every day our minds are thinking, 06:03 every day our minds are imagining. 06:07 And if you are captivated by social media, 06:09 you know that a lot of times your thoughts and imaginations 06:13 are stimulated by external stimuli, 06:16 by what you see, 06:18 by what you read, by what you hear. 06:21 But our imagination influences everything we do, 06:24 everything we think about 06:26 and everything we create to be even deeper. 06:30 The thoughts that are going on in our mind, 06:33 they lead to elaborate theories and indispensable inventions. 06:37 Our thoughts and imaginations are the catalyst of our dreams, 06:42 the doorway to shaping our intellect 06:45 and the ticket to our creativity 06:48 or lack thereof. 06:49 If you think about it, we have the cell phones. 06:51 Why? 06:52 Because somebody thought about it and imagined it. 06:55 Many of the things that we have today that surround us, 06:58 that we rely on were simply the product 07:01 or the seed of someone's thought 07:04 and someone's imagination. 07:06 And you think about it, how much we rely on it today. 07:09 But I simply ask the question, 07:10 what would we do if people didn't think about it? 07:14 Where would we be, 07:15 if Steve Jobs did not think about the Apple Computer? 07:19 If you're a PC user, 07:21 maybe those who started a Dell computer. 07:23 Where would we be today, 07:25 if people like Bill Gates did not start Microsoft? 07:30 It started in the recesses 07:31 of his thoughts and imaginations. 07:34 And so today what we're going to do 07:36 is we are going to examine 07:38 the figments of your imaginations 07:41 that shape you, 07:42 and that impact your outlook on life. 07:45 We're gonna also address 07:47 the phantoms that are chasing you that 07:49 don't even have legs that are not even there. 07:52 We're going to reveal 07:54 the sequences of gaining the victory over thoughts 07:57 and imaginations pursuing you 08:00 that really don't exist. 08:04 Where does this come from? 08:05 When I was reading my Bible there in the Book of Genesis, 08:09 the Genesis of humanity, 08:11 something struck my mind 08:14 and really began to tap on my center for thinking 08:18 and say, look at that text again, 08:20 read that verse all over again. 08:22 And I looked at it again 08:24 and I found that one of the downfalls 08:25 of the antediluvian world 08:27 was their thoughts and imaginations. 08:31 It was their greatest asset at one point, 08:33 and then it became their worst liability. 08:36 Look at Genesis 6:5 08:39 And we're gonna to read this in the King James Version, 08:40 because the way that 08:42 God describes the liability of the world 08:46 that has now gone by should be a wake-up call 08:48 to many of us today. 08:50 It is about the thoughts and imaginations. 08:52 And God's word Says in Genesis 6:5. 08:56 "And God saw that the wickedness of man 08:59 was great in the earth, 09:02 and that every imagination of the thoughts 09:06 of his heart was only evil continually." 09:11 Now, read that again. Look at that again. 09:14 The imaginations and the thoughts of the heart 09:18 were only evil continually. 09:22 Let's look at that and examine that. 09:24 You see what the Bible is saying is the downfall 09:26 of the antediluvian world was not 09:29 what they did first, but what they thought 09:32 and what their imaginations were focused on. 09:34 You see before they did anything evil, 09:37 they thought about it and they imagined it. 09:39 Look at the sequence of their downfall. 09:42 Their thoughts became their actions. 09:45 Their actions became their habits. 09:48 Their habits developed their characters 09:51 and their characters shaped their destiny. 09:55 I'll say that one more time, 09:56 it's very important to understand this, 09:58 their thoughts and imaginations became their actions. 10:01 Their actions became their habits, 10:04 their habits developed their character 10:06 and their character became their destiny. 10:11 Why did God destroy the antediluvians 10:14 because of what started in their thoughts 10:16 and their imaginations, 10:18 and then became in the documentary of Genesis, 10:21 only evil continually. 10:24 And when you read the story of Genesis, 10:25 the Bible says it made God sick to His heart. 10:30 He was upset. 10:32 He was sorry that He had even made man 10:35 when He saw the depth at which they had sunk. 10:40 And that's our world today, before the antediluvians 10:43 manifested evil actions, they thought about it. 10:47 They imagined it, they fed their thoughts, 10:51 they nurtured their imaginations. 10:54 They exposed their thoughts and imaginations to things 10:59 that they could not control. 11:01 They thought they could 11:03 until they realized that they could not. 11:08 There are many of you today that are sitting 11:09 where I'm talking about right now to get to the place 11:12 where imaginations are only evil continually. 11:16 It's an amazing thing. 11:17 But if you think about it, 11:18 the only way that they could have gotten to 11:20 where the Bible said they did, 11:21 was it required a constant and consistent diet of thoughts 11:28 that continued to suggest evil continually. 11:33 They exposed themselves to the media of their day. 11:36 And that is why I say to young people today, 11:38 if you are not developing your thoughts, 11:40 your surroundings are. 11:42 If your thoughts are not being developed voluntarily, 11:45 they're being guided involuntarily. 11:47 As one doctor once said, 11:49 the best way to have your own thoughts 11:51 and imaginations is to turn off all the devices 11:55 around you that insert thoughts 11:58 and imaginations into your brain, 12:00 into your thinking patterns without your permission. 12:03 Because when you're sitting before a television or an iPad, 12:07 or you're surfing the internet, 12:09 or on your favorite social media website, 12:12 your mind is being developed involuntarily 12:15 because you don't have any say in what is before you. 12:19 And before you know it, it influences your thoughts. 12:22 It starts tapping on your imaginations. 12:25 And then you begin to think and imagine things 12:28 that just a few minutes ago 12:30 weren't even in the recesses of your mind, 12:33 but what you don't understand is thoughts 12:35 and imaginations are not random. 12:38 They just don't pop up. 12:39 Something happens to activate our thoughts. 12:43 Something happens to prompt our imagination, 12:47 but the problem is 12:49 when our thoughts and imaginations 12:50 begin to guide us, 12:52 the problem is we focus on dealing with the thought. 12:55 We focus on dealing with the imagination. 12:58 And we often don't focus on the precursor 13:01 to what developed that thought 13:03 or what developed that imagination. 13:05 Case in point. 13:06 Why are we thinking that way? 13:08 Well, if I didn't pick up my device, 13:09 I wouldn't be thinking that thought. 13:11 If I didn't watch that show, 13:12 I wouldn't have those imaginations. 13:14 If I did not allow that 13:15 external stimuli to come into the way 13:17 I think and hear and breathe and move, 13:19 then I wouldn't have these 13:21 thoughts and imaginations and ideas. 13:23 So what do we do? 13:24 We try to deal with the thoughts 13:26 rather than the precursor. 13:29 If we didn't pick up the device, 13:31 we wouldn't have those thoughts. 13:33 So therefore, instead of dealing 13:34 with the thoughts, as one psychologist said, 13:37 a person was facing the battle with alcohol. 13:41 And he said, I've got to find a way to captivate, 13:45 to be successfully victorious over my alcoholism. 13:48 And he was beginning to be questioned by the psychologist. 13:50 What do you do that makes you drink? 13:53 And as he was going down the path, 13:55 he says, I've got to stop drinking, 13:57 but the psychologist said, no. 13:59 What you do prior to that determines 14:02 whether or not you want to drink, 14:05 whether or not you are prompted 14:06 to want to reach for that alcohol, 14:08 whether or not you begin to think 14:10 and imagine that you need a drink to deal 14:12 with the problem that 14:14 is the precursor to the behavior. 14:17 And so many of us are trying to deal 14:18 with habits in our lives, 14:20 but we are ignoring the precursor to the behavior, 14:24 failing to realize that 14:26 before the thought is there, 14:29 before the thought becomes an imagination, 14:31 before the imagination becomes a temptation, 14:34 we are dealing with a precursor behavior 14:37 that we must look at very carefully. 14:41 Let's look at what Paul talks about 14:42 as the precursor to that behavior. 14:45 The precursor to that behavior. 14:47 Romans 6:16. 14:49 Notice what he says. 14:51 This is amazing. 14:52 Paul says in Romans 6:16, 14:55 "Do you not know that 14:58 to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, 15:02 you are that one's slave whom you obey, 15:05 whether of sin leading to death, 15:08 or obedience leading to righteousness?" 15:13 Now, I want you to grab that. 15:14 I'm gonna say that again. 15:16 And I'll just illustrate something as you watch. 15:19 When the presentation happens, 15:22 what follows that ends up in one of two categories. 15:27 Somebody takes over and lead you to obedience, 15:31 which leads to righteousness or disobedience, 15:34 which leads to death. 15:36 But before the leading starts, 15:38 there's a word that's used in this passage that 15:40 I want to take my time to focus on right now. 15:44 It says, "Do you not know 15:45 to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey?" 15:49 Let me make a point that 15:50 I think will grab you right away. 15:52 Before Eve got to the tree in Eden, 15:56 the tree got to Eve in her thoughts 15:58 and in her imaginations. 15:59 Before we get to the place of temptation, 16:02 the place of temptation gets to us. 16:04 The building, the club, the social gathering, 16:08 the addiction, the habit, the drug, 16:11 the thing you watch, the thing you read, 16:13 the thing you listen to before we get to that. 16:16 Before we decide to pick it up, 16:18 we present ourselves 16:20 to the thought that presents itself. 16:23 Now let me break down carefully 16:24 what Paul the apostle in essence is saying here. 16:27 He is saying, the temptation will come, 16:31 but no one sins without first yielding 16:34 to the temptation, it is virtually 16:38 and legitimately impossible to sin until you yield. 16:42 And that word yield means present. 16:45 So the temptation comes and we say, 16:47 hello, temptation, I'm here, what would you like me to do? 16:51 Well, Paul is saying, when that moment comes, 16:53 instead of saying the temptation 16:55 is too great for you. 16:56 He said, don't even present yourself to it. 16:58 Don't even answer the door when it knocks. 17:01 Don't even say I can handle it, 17:03 because we are not able 17:05 to wrestle against flesh and blood. 17:06 We are not able in our own human strength 17:09 to have any kind of victory over an enemy 17:13 that we cannot see. 17:14 We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. 17:17 So what is he saying? 17:19 Don't present yourself, 17:21 because no one can sin without first yielding. 17:24 Temptation may present itself to us, 17:27 but nothing happens 17:29 until we present ourselves to it. 17:34 We don't sin simply because we yield to sin. 17:38 It happens in steps. 17:41 Let's walk through the steps very carefully 17:43 and I've outlined them one to four. 17:45 And I want to be very intentional 17:46 about telling you what these steps are. 17:48 The first thing we do is decide 17:51 to present ourselves to the thought. 17:53 That's how it happens. 17:55 The first thing we do is we decide 17:57 to present ourselves to the thought. 18:00 The temptation is here. 18:01 We are deciding, should I present myself or not? 18:03 The tree is there. 18:04 Should I present myself on the drug, 18:06 the alcohol, the video, the controller, the remote, 18:10 the social media device is there. 18:12 If I don't pick it up, I won't have to worry about 18:15 what's on the other side of it. 18:16 So the very first thing that happens 18:17 is we decide to present ourselves. 18:20 The second thing, when we present ourselves, 18:23 the next thing we decide to do is 18:25 to obey or to disobey. 18:28 That's why Paul says, when we obey, 18:31 it is either sin leading to death 18:33 or obedience leading to righteousness, 18:34 meaning we decide which one to obey, 18:37 sin or obedience. 18:39 The sin, if we obey it, it leads to death. 18:41 The obedience, if we obey it, it leads to righteousness. 18:46 We decide the second phase is, 18:48 we decide whether or not to obey. 18:50 Thirdly, when we obey the thought, 18:54 we embrace it like Eve embraced the fruit, 18:58 we embrace it. 19:00 We begin examining the thought. 19:02 When we examine righteous things 19:04 and embrace righteous things, 19:06 the outcome will be a righteous outcome. 19:08 But the downside is when we imagine 19:11 and obey negative thoughts 19:13 or evil thoughts or sinful thoughts, 19:14 and then when we embrace it, 19:16 the outcome is going to be sin leading to death. 19:20 Something in your mind is going to die. 19:23 Something in your character is going to die. 19:25 Something in your constitution to fight 19:28 against the evil is going to die. 19:29 And when you yield, you are no longer in control 19:33 because sin begins to lead to death, 19:35 or obedience begins to lead to righteousness. 19:39 As Paul said, and I think it's Romans 7:17, 19:41 it is no longer I who do it, 19:43 but sin that dwells in me. 19:47 And the fourth thing we do in the four-stage process 19:50 is when we embrace it, 19:52 we cross over from imagination to manifestation. 19:57 And I want you to grab that. 19:59 We cross over 20:00 from imagination to manifestation. 20:05 Let's think about it this way. 20:07 Imagination forms the mental picture 20:11 or a thought in the mind. 20:12 But when we yield to the imagination 20:15 and begin to embrace it, 20:17 begin to handle it, begin to yield to it. 20:20 It goes from just an imagination 20:22 to a manifestation, 20:23 meaning it now becomes dimensional. 20:27 When we yield to the precursor, there's an activating factor. 20:32 It opens the door 20:33 to the thoughts and imaginations, 20:35 and then it makes room. 20:36 It says, come on in. 20:37 It makes room for the enslavement, 20:41 but if we don't yield to it, it cannot enslave us. 20:44 If we don't embrace it, 20:46 it cannot have a lasting impact on us. 20:50 It cannot begin to change 20:51 the way we feel, think, or behave. 20:54 If we do not follow the four steps 20:57 that leads to either a good outcome 20:59 or a negative outcome. 21:01 But I want you to notice what happens when we yield. 21:03 There is something that's powerfully transforming 21:06 when we yield. 21:07 One of the things that happens when we yield, 21:09 there is a psychological disconnect 21:12 and that psychological disconnect disconnects us 21:15 from the center for development of character, 21:19 which is Christ for good character development. 21:21 Notice how Paul analyzes the antediluvian world 21:25 and what happened to them. 21:27 Look at Romans 1:21. 21:29 Romans 1:21. 21:31 The Bible says, "Because that," this is amazing to me. 21:35 "when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, 21:40 neither were thankful, 21:43 but became vain in their imaginations, 21:47 and their foolish hearts were darkened." 21:51 Watch what happened? 21:52 Look what happened? 21:54 They knew God, but they did not glorify Him as God. 21:57 And when they did not glorify Him as God, 22:00 they were not thankful, and the disconnect happened. 22:03 And when the disconnect occurred, 22:06 what happened in their minds? 22:08 They became vain in their imaginations. 22:11 Meaning their imaginations 22:13 were now under their carnal dark control. 22:17 No consciousness of right, no consciousness of godliness, 22:22 no consciousness of doing good. 22:25 That's why people, when they do evil, 22:27 when they continue to do evil, 22:28 they get to the point where evil 22:30 is a natural outcome, 22:31 they don't even blink about it. 22:33 They don't even think about it 22:34 because they've yielded so much that 22:37 they have an ongoing disconnect from God. 22:40 And that's why the Bible says what happens next. 22:43 And this is amazing to me. 22:44 It says in verse 21 of Romans 1, 22:46 "Their foolish hearts were darkened." 22:49 Now wait a minute. 22:51 Think about that. 22:52 If there's not light in your heart, 22:55 there's only a darkness. 22:56 What does the Bible say? 22:57 That's why I always say to people, 22:59 if you're not reading your Bible 23:00 and not studying your Bible, 23:01 there's no light in there because the Bible says 23:04 in the Book of Psalms, 23:06 "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet 23:09 and a light unto my path." 23:11 God's Word is a lamp unto our feet 23:15 and a light unto our paths. 23:17 So if we're not studying God's Word, 23:19 there's no lamp, and there is no light. 23:22 And Jesus says in the Book of John, 23:24 when there is darkness, 23:26 how amazingly deep that darkness is. 23:29 He also says, walk in the light 23:32 while you have the light, lest darkness comes upon you. 23:36 What is Paul saying? What is Jesus saying? 23:39 If there's nothing to guide your centers 23:42 for developing right character traits. 23:45 If you turn off the very light that you need, 23:47 there is no way that in your natural inclinations, 23:50 you're gonna say, well, I want to do right. 23:51 It's not possible. You know why? 23:53 Because your imaginations are vain 23:57 and your heart is foolish and darkened. 24:00 How can a foolishly darkened heart 24:03 and a mind that has vain imaginations 24:06 even think about God. 24:08 And that's why young folk, 24:10 let me just reach out to you for a moment. 24:11 That's why it's vitally important 24:13 for you to choose your stimulus from Sunday to Friday, 24:17 because there's no way that you're gonna come 24:19 to church on Sabbath morning and Christians, generally, 24:21 whatever church you go to, 24:23 there's no way you're gonna present yourself 24:24 before God if during the week you are presenting yourself 24:28 to things that are developing your thoughts downward. 24:31 There is no way that you're gonna go to church 24:33 and sing songs to praise God, 24:34 or even feel like you're in the right place. 24:37 That's why some people come to church and sleep. 24:40 And when the sermon is going forth, 24:42 which is affecting one life. 24:43 It's not even touching yours 24:45 because you have been tefloned 24:47 by your evil thoughts against God, 24:49 even permeating your heart. 24:50 You see what happens? 24:52 When you know God, that's not enough. 24:55 You have to be thankful. 24:57 You have to be thankful or else your heart 24:59 is gonna become a vain place. 25:01 Your imaginations a vain place, 25:04 and your heart is gonna be foolish and darkened, 25:07 but that's not even the end of result. 25:10 That's not even the last part of the story. 25:12 When I looked at this diagnosis of the antediluvian world, 25:15 it shocked me into thinking, wait a minute, Pastor John, 25:18 you've got to really be intentional about 25:22 what you let come into your mind 25:24 and what you let come into your heart. 25:26 And so I'm saying to you, if you're not intentional about 25:28 what's coming into your mind 25:29 and what is coming into your heart, 25:31 then you are allowing yourself to be a canoe in a rapid river. 25:36 And you're on your way to a waterfall. 25:39 There's no possible way for you 25:40 to stop the rushing river of evil around you 25:43 if the Word of God is not your anchor. 25:45 If the Word of God is not your light, 25:47 if the Word of God is not in your CDC, 25:50 your center for the development of character, 25:53 but there is something else the antediluvians 25:55 did that is even more shocking. 25:58 Look at Romans 1:28. Romans 1:28. 26:03 Now the Bible said, "And even as they did not 26:07 like to retain God in their knowledge, 26:12 God gave them over to a debased mind, 26:15 to do those things which are not fitting." 26:18 And then the Apostle Paul begins 26:20 to outline the dark sensual, 26:23 sadistically sexual behavior. 26:26 And that's why today in our society, 26:28 we see this and we say, 26:29 what can be in the mind of a man 26:31 to be want to marry a man 26:33 or the mind of a woman to want to marry a woman? 26:35 Where are their hearts? 26:37 Well, the Bible says, 26:38 when you don't like to retain God in your knowledge, 26:41 you don't have a God guiding system. 26:46 You don't have a system that's guiding you. 26:48 God's program is not in your senses, 26:50 the GPS, the God program senses the GPS, 26:53 God is not guiding you. 26:55 So there is not even a sense of feeling 26:57 that anything is wrong. 26:59 That's why today people can participate 27:01 in some of the darkest behaviors. 27:05 And they'll call it love. 27:07 Some people participate 27:08 in the most degrading habits and practices, 27:11 and they call it just a lifestyle 27:14 because they have no God complex. 27:16 Why? 27:17 Because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. 27:22 When God tried to get into their knowledge, 27:24 they said, I don't want God in my knowledge, 27:26 like in Noah's day, Noah preached. 27:28 But that generation did not like to 27:30 retain God in its knowledge. 27:32 And today we are in the same kind of generation. 27:35 The Bible says in the last days, 27:37 perilous times will come for men 27:39 will be lovers of themselves, 27:41 lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God. 27:44 So here we are in the middle of a socially driven society, 27:49 the movies, the music, 27:51 the rap artists, the hip hop artists. 27:53 And I even go so far as 27:54 saying some of the Christian artists 27:56 have so diluted Christian music, 27:58 that it sounds so much 28:00 like the world that you can go 28:01 from Christian music to worldly music 28:04 and no pun intended, not even skip a beat 28:06 because it doesn't even sound any different. 28:09 The only thing that may be a little different 28:12 is they will call God Him and they'll call God Him. 28:18 So you have to put the word Him. 28:19 You have to put God where the word Him 28:21 is in so much Christian music nowadays. 28:23 Jesus is not even if they say Him, I love Him. 28:26 Well, who is Him? 28:28 It could be a guy or could be God. 28:29 The world is melting down the church 28:32 so that it can control our thoughts 28:34 and our imaginations and the heart 28:36 where God is supposed to abide 28:38 will eventually be filled with vain imaginations. 28:42 And the heart that's should be dedicated 28:44 only to God 28:45 will become a place where the foolish heart 28:47 becomes darkened. 28:48 My friends, let me warn you. 28:50 The only safeguard today 28:52 is to retain God in your knowledge. 28:54 The only hope for us in this world today is say, 28:57 we've got to get God in there 28:59 because if God is not living in your house 29:01 or in your mind, that's why I believe it's in Philippians 29:03 where Paul says, let this mind be in you, 29:06 which was also in Christ Jesus. 29:08 Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. 29:11 He also says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 29:16 We cannot be renewed in our minds 29:19 if we are on a constant diet of the world. 29:23 And we wonder why somebody on one side 29:25 is excited about Jesus. 29:27 And on the other side, 29:28 a person is completely turned off. 29:30 They don't want to hear anything about God. 29:32 I guarantee you, you can trace it 29:34 right down to the external stimuli 29:36 and what is coming into their minds 29:38 and their thoughts all week long. 29:40 And that's why many people don't like to study God's Word 29:44 because the thoughts and imaginations God's Word 29:48 will point out what you're thinking. 29:50 And God's Word will uncover your imaginations. 29:54 I've often said it this way. 29:56 We're gonna go to Hebrews 4:12. 29:57 I've often said it this way before I read the text. 30:00 When you read the Bible, 30:02 the Bible will start reading you. 30:04 Let me say that one more time. 30:05 When you begin to read the Bible 30:08 without prejudice of any text, 30:10 don't pick what you're gonna read 30:11 and what you're not gonna read. 30:12 Because some churches today, the pastor says, 30:14 let's not read that. 30:15 That's the Old Testament that's done away with. 30:17 Don't fool yourself. 30:18 If you can't read the whole Bible, 30:20 your thoughts and imaginations 30:21 are gonna become dark. 30:22 And the truth of God's Word, 30:24 His commandments, His Sabbath, the truth about death. 30:26 The truth about what happens, the truth about the way 30:29 Jesus feels about us will be distorted 30:32 if you pick and choose what you read in God's Word. 30:34 You can't pick and choose 30:36 what tools a surgeon uses on your operation. 30:38 Don't try to pick and choose 30:40 what texts in the Bible you read, 30:41 because it doesn't fit your fancy. 30:43 And I would guarantee you that the person 30:46 that's massaging your thoughts spiritually 30:49 can also be leading your spiritual thoughts 30:52 to be dark and vain without the presence of God. 30:54 So why is it important 30:56 to read God's Word for yourself? 30:58 Look at Hebrews 4:12, this is powerful. 31:01 Hebrews 4:12. 31:02 The Bible says, "For the word of God 31:05 is living and powerful 31:08 and sharper than any two-edged sword, 31:12 piercing even 31:14 to the division of soul and spirit," 31:17 meaning it gets way down in there, 31:19 "and of joints and marrow," and watch this, 31:22 "and is a discerner of the thoughts 31:25 and intents of the heart." 31:29 Did you get that? 31:30 When you read the Bible, the very place 31:33 where the antediluvians failed, 31:35 their thoughts and intentions were only evil continually. 31:39 The Bible says, God's Word is a discerner of the thoughts 31:44 and intents of the heart. 31:46 When you read God's Word, God's Word begins to read you. 31:50 When you are studying God's Word. 31:52 God's Word begins to study you. 31:54 When you are reading about righteous material, 31:58 when you are reading and learning 31:59 about the righteous God and the righteous life, 32:02 it begins to examine 32:03 and uncover the wickedness in your mind, 32:05 the wickedness, and the evil in your thoughts 32:07 and in your imaginations. 32:09 But if you have fallen in love with evil and wickedness, 32:11 and untruth and lies, and scriptural deception, 32:15 then you'll reject the Word of God 32:17 and embrace the very lie that Satan wants to use 32:20 to guide your thoughts and imagination. 32:23 But here's the caution. 32:24 When evil no longer seems wicked 32:27 and good is no longer desirable. 32:30 When darkness seems more pleasing, 32:32 and the truth of God's Word seems to be the thing 32:35 you want to reject, 32:36 because it doesn't cross your path and exercise, 32:39 you are on dangerous ground. 32:40 When living right loses its appeal. 32:43 There is a bewitching addiction 32:47 that turns to darkness and that bewitching addiction 32:51 makes you feel that 32:52 somehow you can live one way and expect a different result. 32:57 Don't fool yourself. 32:58 Let me make another point. 33:00 Some people think that, well, you know, the Christian died, 33:03 well, God is a forgiving God. 33:05 Let me make a very important point 33:06 right here. 33:08 The very character that you are developing now 33:10 is the character that 33:11 you're gonna come out of the grave with. 33:13 You're not gonna become righteous 33:14 on the day you die. 33:16 If you are living a habit, 33:17 a life of habitual practices that are dark, 33:21 there is no way that 33:22 somebody can lie at your funeral 33:24 and make you righteous in the resurrection. 33:26 You've got to develop and practice those habits now. 33:29 You've got to live a life. 33:30 That's what the Bible talked about, 33:31 that he that has this hope in himself, 33:33 purifies himself. 33:35 Jesus will wash away your sin, 33:36 but you've got to make pure choices 33:39 because you're developing thoughts 33:40 and imaginations that 33:41 will either lead you in one direction 33:43 or lead you in another. 33:45 Look what Isaiah points out as this bewitching addiction. 33:49 It's an amazing thing. 33:51 When you reject light, look what happens? 33:53 Isaiah 5:20. 33:54 The Bible says, 33:55 "Woe to those who call evil good, 33:57 and good evil, who put darkness for light, 34:02 and light for darkness, 34:03 who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 34:08 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, 34:11 and prudent in their own sight." 34:16 That's a cautious scripture. 34:18 Meaning you're measuring everything by yourself. 34:21 That's why some people look more evil than you 34:23 because you're measuring yourself against them. 34:25 But I guarantee you, if you measure yourself 34:27 against God's Word, 34:29 you'll see yourself for who you are. 34:30 If you allow God's law to be your mirror, 34:32 you will see who you are developing. 34:34 What kind of character you really have. 34:37 You see the point, friends, 34:38 is when our discerning center yields 34:40 to evil thoughts and imagination, 34:43 two things happen. 34:44 Two things happen. 34:46 I'm gonna tell you about the first one right now. 34:48 And I want you to listen carefully 34:49 because these are critical. 34:51 These are life and death developments. 34:53 One, when our discerning center yields 34:56 to evil thoughts and imaginations, 34:59 the first thing happens 35:00 is we see sin as our enemy and we fail to see ourselves. 35:06 Let me break that down. 35:07 If sin is my enemy, 35:09 then sin is making me be do evil. 35:11 But sin cannot make you do evil. 35:13 Sin is our enemy, but sin has no power 35:16 over you until you yield. 35:18 What am I saying? 35:20 We blame the substance or the attraction, 35:24 and we stop taking responsibility 35:27 for our choices. 35:28 You see, character is developed when you take responsibility 35:32 for your choices. 35:33 Nobody can force you to eat. 35:35 Nobody can force you to be evil. 35:37 It's a choice you make. 35:39 It's a decision you make every day. 35:40 And the second thing we do, 35:42 the second very important thing 35:43 we do when our discerning center yields 35:46 to evil thoughts and imaginations. 35:48 The second thing we do is we see others as our enemy. 35:53 We see the devil as our arch-enemy, 35:58 which he is, but let me take you 36:00 outside of blaming him or blaming others. 36:03 When we see others or Satan as the reason 36:06 why we do what we do, we no longer examine ourselves. 36:10 We no longer take responsibility. 36:12 We blame others 36:14 and we take no responsibility for our behavior. 36:17 One of the problems I have with Christian 36:19 nowadays and years ago, 36:20 there was a guy called Flip Wilson, 36:22 excuse me, young folk, 36:24 you don't even know who that is. 36:25 But this man named Flip Wilson years ago used to say, 36:28 the devil made me do it. 36:31 If the devil made him do it, 36:32 he was not responsible for his behavior. 36:35 And there are many people that go to church today 36:37 that blame the way they feel, 36:39 the way they think on Sabbath morning 36:42 or Sunday morning, 36:43 whenever you go to church, there are people 36:44 that blame other people for the way they behave, 36:48 for their Christian spirit, 36:49 for the lack of the development of the fruit of the Spirit. 36:52 Because if that person doesn't like you, 36:54 it doesn't mean you don't like... 36:56 Don't have to like them. 36:57 Follow the patterns of Christ. 36:59 If you are a Christian, 37:01 let the character and the personality 37:04 and the traits of Jesus shine through you. 37:06 Jesus didn't love focus. They loved Him. 37:09 He loved them because that's who He is. 37:12 And when Christ is reigning in you, 37:14 it is impossible to say that Jesus is in me, 37:18 but I can't stand the people 37:19 that I go to church with, 37:21 or I don't like the pastor 37:22 or I don't like the elders, or I can't stand my mom. 37:25 I can't stand her religious stances. 37:28 You've got to take personal responsibility 37:30 for your behavior. 37:31 When all the forces outside of you 37:34 are the reason why you behave the way you do, 37:37 then you have failed to take personal responsibility 37:41 for your actions. 37:42 That's why the Apostle Paul says 37:43 in 2 Corinthians 13:5, listen to this. 37:47 He says this so plainly, listen to this passage. 37:50 He says, "Examine yourselves 37:53 as to whether you are in the faith 37:55 as to whether you are in the faith, 37:57 test yourselves." 37:59 Notice, he's not saying anybody else, 38:01 you are your own responsibility. 38:04 He says, "Do you not know yourselves 38:06 that Jesus Christ is in you? 38:09 Unless indeed you are disqualified. 38:12 Examine yourself. Test yourself. 38:18 'Cause nobody is gonna be lost 38:20 because somebody else did something wrong. 38:24 Ezekiel 18:20 makes it clear 38:27 if you're blaming the drug or the substance 38:29 or other people that are, you believe responsible 38:33 for your behavior, 38:34 it is impossible for you to be saved. 38:36 If you blame everybody else for your character development 38:39 or lack thereof. 38:40 Look at Ezekiel 18:20. 38:43 The Bible shows 38:44 where the responsibility really is. 38:47 Ezekiel says, "The soul who sins shall die. 38:51 The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, 38:54 nor the father bear the guilt of the son. 38:57 The righteousness of the righteous 39:00 shall be upon himself, 39:02 and the wickedness of the wicked 39:04 shall be upon himself." 39:06 What does Ezekiel saying to us? 39:08 Each one of us is responsible 39:11 for his or her own destiny. 39:16 Nobody will stand in the judgment for you 39:20 and you cannot receive anybody's responsibility 39:23 and nobody will be responsible for you. 39:26 Everybody is responsible for his or her own destiny. 39:32 Now let's talk about the flip side. 39:34 Let's talk about deliverance. 39:36 We've analyzed the problem. 39:38 We've talked about yielding ourselves. 39:40 We've talked about 39:41 how we present ourselves to the temptation 39:43 and how it takes us over when we yield and embrace it? 39:47 But now let's talk about the steps of deliverance. 39:50 The first step in deliverance 39:51 is taking personal responsibility, 39:55 and this is where God will help you a lot. 39:57 But you got to ask Him to help you. 39:58 I know that if you ask God for help, He'll help you. 40:01 Look at the prayer of David in Psalm 139:23-24. 40:05 Psalm 139:23-24. 40:08 Look at the first two words of what David says, here it is. 40:12 He says, "Search me, O God, 40:16 and know my thought: try me. 40:19 I mean, know my heart: try me and know my thoughts 40:23 and see if there be any wicked way in me, 40:26 and lead me in the way everlasting." 40:29 Let me read that one more time. 40:31 "Search me, O God, 40:33 and know my heart: try me 40:35 and know my thoughts 40:37 and see if there be any wicked way in me, 40:41 and lead me in the way everlasting." 40:45 There's that word, sin leading to death, 40:48 obedience leading to righteousness. 40:50 When you ask God to examine you, 40:53 you say, Lord, I want you to lead me. 40:56 How many of you want Jesus to be your guide? 40:59 How many of you want God to lead you? 41:02 If you allow God to lead you, 41:04 He will lead you in the way everlasting. 41:07 But that's the challenge nowadays. 41:09 How do you turn off the phone? 41:11 The media, the TikTok, the Facebook, the Instagram, 41:14 the Twitter, all the stuff 41:16 that's just pouring in at, 41:18 at an infinitesimal speeds of digital know-how 41:22 is just coming in and you are so addicted to it. 41:25 You can't stop it, and then you say, 41:26 God help me, 41:29 but you got to make some choices. 41:31 You got to say, search me, 41:32 Father, where am I standing before you? 41:34 The first thing that must happen 41:36 is we got to ask God to search us, search me. 41:39 And I asked the question, 41:41 what would God find if we invited 41:44 God to examine our thoughts? 41:47 Would you be comfortable? 41:49 What would God find if He examined your thoughts? 41:51 What would happen if we asked God 41:54 to reveal our thoughts to us? 41:56 Would you be embarrassed if God revealed your thoughts 41:59 to you in His presence? 42:01 How different would we be 42:03 if we asked God to expose our imaginations? 42:09 Are you brave enough to ask God to do that? 42:12 Let me say something. 42:14 When you are brave enough to ask God 42:16 to examine your thoughts, 42:17 expose your thoughts, reveal your thoughts, 42:19 expose your imaginations. 42:22 Then you're saying, God, 42:23 I'm serious about this eternity thing. 42:25 I don't want to be lost 42:26 because I took no responsibility. 42:28 I want to be different. 42:30 You see, David prayed that prayer 42:31 because David knew that his sin was born 42:34 when he gave his thoughts and imaginations 42:37 supremacy over making the right choices. 42:40 When David fell into the sin with Bathsheba, 42:43 David became a blood thirsty king. 42:45 David looked back on his life 42:47 and he knew that when he gave his thoughts 42:50 and imaginations supremacy over making right choices, 42:56 he fell into sin. 42:58 But, friends, the fact of the matter 42:59 is sin cannot force us. 43:01 Sin cannot take over our will. 43:03 We must surrender that. 43:04 We are not victims of our sins. 43:07 We are victims of our wrong choices. 43:09 Watch this. 43:10 We are not victims of the sin around us. 43:13 We are first victims of our wrong choices. 43:15 The sin then affects us because of our wrong choices. 43:18 Notice why I didn't blame the sin 43:20 because I looked at the precursor, 43:22 the sin could not affect you unless you first 43:24 decided to choose 43:26 or to choose for it or against it. 43:28 The precursor is the issue, not the thing itself, 43:32 not the alcohol, the drugs, 43:34 the pornography, the cigarettes, 43:36 the theft, the lying, the stealing. 43:38 It's the precursor of 43:39 what is happening prior to that, 43:41 that leads you to embrace the darkness. 43:45 That's why we have to look at the responsibility. 43:47 James 1:14-15 talks about how we are all responsible. 43:51 We are responsible, no one else. 43:53 Notice what he says in James 1:14. 43:56 He says, "But each one is tempted 44:00 when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 44:05 Then, when desire has conceived," 44:09 look what happens, 44:10 "it gives birth to sin, 44:12 and sin when it is full-grown, 44:16 brings forth death." 44:20 Look at the progress, James the Apostle outlined it. 44:23 He says, first of all, it begins with our desires. 44:27 The things that entice us, 44:29 we are drawn away by our own desires. 44:32 That's why when you start developing bad habits, 44:34 bad thoughts, it becomes desires. 44:36 And I'm gonna tell you, 44:37 there's nothing more powerful in the human character 44:39 than desire and will, the right action of the will. 44:42 And the things that you develop in your thoughts 44:44 become your desire. 44:45 And when you desire stuff, it becomes an addiction. 44:48 It starts calling your voice like a drug addict, 44:50 like an alcoholic. 44:52 It starts calling you. 44:53 It haunts you in your quiet moments 44:54 because you've yielded so much, 44:56 is become a part of your makeup, 44:58 your DNA, your desire, 44:59 and is haunting you and you yield to it 45:03 because you allow that thing to entice you to the point 45:06 where it's now a very strong part of you. 45:09 What happens when you yield to that desire, 45:11 it's conceived, it brings forth birth, 45:14 sin full-grown, it brings forth death. 45:16 You can prevent death by looking at the precursor 45:20 to your temptations and asking God to help you 45:22 at the precursor point. 45:23 You don't have to yield, 45:25 Jesus can give you the power over the yielding aspect 45:28 and you can come out victorious. 45:30 Every one of us has the power to choose. 45:33 Every one of us has a choice to make, 45:36 but here's the key, are we training ourselves? 45:41 And now, first of all, we examine, 45:43 we take responsibility. 45:45 We look at we need help, 45:47 but then there's something else we have to do. 45:49 We've got to train ourselves. 45:50 Look what Joshua 24:15 talks about 45:52 when he says choices. 45:53 It's a short verse, 45:55 but let me read this portion to you. 45:56 Joshua 24:15, we are told. 45:59 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 46:03 choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve." 46:08 Let's apply that right now. 46:10 You got to choose today. 46:12 You got to choose when? 46:13 Today. You got to choose when? 46:15 Choose you this day whom you will serve. 46:19 Not two weeks from now 46:20 because when the temptation presents itself 46:22 two weeks from now, 46:23 you got to choose at that very moment. 46:25 But here's where we fail. 46:26 We fail to train ourselves to make right choices. 46:30 Our thoughts and imaginations will have supremacy over us 46:33 if we don't train ourselves. 46:34 Now, why do I use the word train? 46:36 We train dogs, we train cats, 46:38 we train children, we train horses, 46:41 we train circus animals. 46:43 And depending on what kind of animal it is, 46:47 depending on the level of difficulty 46:49 we eventually make that child or that animal or that bird 46:52 or that horse or that lion do what we want them to do 46:55 because we have hung in there and we train them. 46:59 We train them, we train them. 47:02 But here's the powerful point that I want you to grab. 47:05 If we can train an animal, why do we allow our thoughts 47:10 and imaginations to train us? 47:13 We need to take responsibility and start training ourselves. 47:17 That's what Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 6: 40. 47:21 Look at that with me. 47:22 He said that very carefully in Luke 6:40, look at this verse. 47:27 He said, "A disciple is not above his teacher, 47:31 but everyone who is perfectly trained 47:36 will be like his teacher." 47:39 Did you grab that? 47:41 I wanna be like Jesus, but how does that happen? 47:43 I've got to be perfectly trained to be like my teacher, 47:47 the disciple is not above his teacher. 47:49 The teacher is there to give the example. 47:51 There's, the disciple is there to follow the example. 47:54 If we are in fact disciples of Christ, 47:57 let Christ train us. 48:00 Don't leave your thoughts and imaginations to the world 48:03 to let the world train you. 48:04 How ironic that is. 48:06 I'm a Christian, but I live like the world. 48:09 I'm a disciple, but I behave like the world. 48:11 That's ironic. 48:13 Jesus divorces Himself from that kind of behavior. 48:16 That's not My child. 48:17 That's not My disciple. That's not My children. 48:21 What He's in essence saying is I love the child, 48:23 but their behavior does not identify 48:26 with who they say they are children of. 48:29 We've got to be like our teacher. 48:31 We've got to be like our heavenly Father. 48:32 We have to train ourselves. 48:34 There's a quotation 48:35 I want to share with you right now. 48:36 One from one of my favorite authors, 48:38 is from the book Testimony for the Church, 48:40 volume three, page 22. 48:42 Listen to this quotation. 48:43 It is powerful. Here's what it says. 48:47 "The mind must be trained through daily tests 48:52 to habits of fidelity, 48:55 to a sense of the claims of right 48:58 and duty above inclination and pleasure. 49:01 Minds thus trained do not wander 49:06 between right and wrong, 49:07 as the reed trembles in the wind, 49:10 but as soon as matters come before them, 49:13 they discern at once that principal is involved 49:18 and they instinctively choose the right 49:21 without long debating the matter. 49:24 They are loyal because they have," 49:26 look at these two words, 49:28 "trained themselves 49:30 in habits of faithfulness and truth." 49:35 That is a powerful quotation. 49:37 Why when the temptation comes, they don't fall? 49:40 Because they liked the three Hebrews 49:42 on the plain of Dura in Babylon. 49:44 Why did they not bow 49:45 when Nebuchadnezzar threatened them 49:47 with heating the furnace seven times hotter? 49:49 Because before they got to Babylon, 49:51 they trained themselves in Jerusalem. 49:53 They trained themselves in Judea. 49:55 They were raised by their parents. 49:57 Their parents raised them to honor God. 50:00 In spite of circumstances, in spite of their lives, 50:03 they chose to be obedient rather than to compromise 50:07 when their lives were on the line. 50:09 Let me tell you something, friend, 50:11 if you wait till the moment to train yourself, you'll bow. 50:14 If you wait till the furnace is heated seven times hotter 50:16 to make your decision and start your training, 50:18 then you will fall. 50:19 You cannot make the decision at the crisis moment. 50:23 You have to train yourself 50:24 before that like a faithful Olympian. 50:26 You've got to take years of painstaking development, 50:30 your muscles, train your muscles to do right, 50:32 train your mind to think right. 50:34 Train your thoughts to choose right. 50:37 Train your body to make right habits and actions. 50:41 Go in the right direction consistently 50:44 so that when the trial comes, 50:45 you will go in the right direction instinctively. 50:49 Why? Because you trained yourself. 50:52 How powerful is training. 50:54 Ask the doctor, how powerful is training. 50:57 Ask the psychologist, 50:58 the teacher, ask the baseball player, 51:00 the basketball player like Michael Jackson, 51:02 he's on the line, not Michael Jordan. 51:05 He's standing at the foul line. 51:07 He wanted to be at the foul line 51:09 in the critical moments. 51:10 One of the most famous basketball players 51:12 in the NBA history, 51:14 he says, put me on the line in the critical moments. 51:15 Why? 51:17 Because when the gym was empty and the fans were not there, 51:19 there he was practicing his free throws. 51:22 There he was practicing his foul shots, 51:25 so that when the critical testing moment, 51:27 when the crowd was intensely against him, 51:29 he thought nothing of them 51:31 because he trained himself for these challenging moments. 51:35 Oh I'll tell you one thing, the reason why God brings us 51:38 to the fountains of bitter waters is to train us 51:41 that we have made the wrong choices. 51:43 God will bring us to the bitter places 51:46 if we fail to make right decisions. 51:48 Why does He take us there? 51:50 So He can lead us back to retrain ourselves. 51:53 You see, if God decides to chastise you, 51:57 there's a reason for it because He knows 51:59 you're not making the right decisions. 52:00 He'll chastise you to bring you back to the place to say, 52:04 now don't do that again. 52:05 But the only way to prevent that is to train yourself. 52:08 Look at Hebrews 12:11. 52:10 Look what the Lord says about this very action 52:12 that we must partake in. 52:14 He says, no chastening. 52:16 "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, 52:20 but painful, nevertheless, 52:24 afterwards it yields 52:26 the peaceable fruit of righteousness 52:30 to those who have been trained by it." 52:33 You see that word trained by it. 52:36 Trials sometimes train us. 52:38 We don't like them, 52:40 but God will bring trials to train us. 52:42 He'll say to us, you haven't done right. 52:44 So I need to train you to do right. 52:46 And the battle against sin. 52:47 The problem is, we try to suppress the sin 52:50 instead of training ourselves. 52:52 We cannot suppress the sin, 52:55 if we haven't trained ourselves and ask for divine assistance 52:58 in those very moments. 53:00 We've got to make the right choices. 53:02 We've got to exercise our will the way that we should. 53:05 Look at Isaiah 1:16. 53:06 The Bible tells us, 53:08 look at the responsibility of the Christian. 53:11 We are told. 53:12 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, 53:15 put away the evil of your doing from before My eye. 53:19 Cease to do evil, learn to do good." 53:23 Notice, learn to do good. 53:26 The problem is many Christians want to be right. 53:30 They want righteous lives without training themselves 53:33 or putting forth any effort 53:35 to develop those kinds of characters. 53:37 Don't desire a righteous life unless you put forth effort 53:41 to begin to develop that kind of life. 53:44 That's why, when you look at the life of Christ, 53:46 you'll discover something 53:48 in the most crucial moment of the life of Jesus. 53:50 When He was facing crucifixion, 53:52 when He was facing the bitter cup, 53:54 His Father did not remove the bitter cup 53:57 because it was at that moment, 53:59 He wanted Jesus to make 54:01 the right choice to be our sacrifice. 54:03 He wanted the human, the Son of man to not succumb 54:07 to the pressures of His tormentors, 54:09 His persecutors, the jeering crowd. 54:12 But notice what Jesus said 54:14 in order to survive that moment. 54:16 Luke 22:47, He says, "Father, 54:21 if it is Your will take this cup away from Me, 54:25 nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done." 54:31 Now I want you to see something. 54:33 As soon as Jesus chose to obey in that critical moment, 54:37 what did the Father do? 54:39 The thing that He did for Jesus, 54:41 He will do for you. 54:42 Look at verse 43. 54:44 The Bible says in Luke 22:43, 54:46 "Then an angel appeared to Him 54:48 from heaven, strengthening Him." 54:50 You see when the angel came to strengthen Jesus. 54:53 His human disability was combined with divine ability. 54:58 He laid aside the human frailty and divine assistance came. 55:02 Friends, the Lord will sent to the same, 55:04 the Lord will do the very same thing for you. 55:06 When you call on God at that very moment, 55:09 when you choose to be obedient, 55:11 angels will come and take your human disability 55:15 and combine it with the divine ability. 55:17 He will do for us. 55:18 And our thoughts and imaginations 55:20 will no longer have power over us 55:22 because we chose to submit to the will of God. 55:27 Now what happens? 55:28 Let's look at the last part of the puzzle. 55:30 What kind of weapons should 55:31 we have in those critical moments? 55:33 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. 55:35 Look at what the Bible says, 55:37 "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 55:40 but mighty through God, 55:41 to the pulling down of strongholds, 55:44 casting down, look, imaginations, 55:46 and every high thing that exalteth itself 55:49 against the knowledge of God, and bringing 55:51 into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 55:56 How does that happen? 55:58 The first thing we do is we decide 55:59 to present ourselves to the Lord. 56:01 The second thing we do when we present ourselves. 56:04 The next thing we do is we decide to obey Him, 56:07 the steps to righteousness. 56:08 The third thing is when we obey Him, 56:11 we embrace Him like even embrace the fruit. 56:14 And the fourth thing, when we embrace Him, 56:15 we cross over from imagination to manifestation. 56:19 You see, friends, 56:20 God never intended a righteous life 56:23 to be just our imagination. 56:25 He intended to be our experience. 56:27 Let me go to the last text. 56:29 How does that happen? 56:30 How does that happen? 56:32 Philippians 4:8. 56:34 How does that happen? 56:35 The Bible says it carefully, Philippians 4:8. 56:39 "Finally, brethren whatsoever things are true, 56:44 whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 56:48 whatsoever things are pure, 56:50 whatsoever things are lovely, 56:52 whatsoever things are of good report, 56:54 if there be any virtue, if there be any praise," 56:58 notice what he says, "think on these things." 57:02 My appeal to you is very simple. 57:04 The world is tired of imaginary Christians. 57:08 When we surrender our thoughts and imaginations, 57:10 the world will finally see 57:13 and get a glimpse of God's thoughts 57:15 and imaginations. 57:17 Today, let me encourage you, 57:18 give up your thoughts and imaginations, 57:21 yield your will to Christ. 57:22 He'll send you divine aid 57:24 and it will no longer be just your imagination. 57:27 You will finally be just like Christ. 57:30 God bless you. |
Revised 2021-08-13