20181006 | Two-Minute Warning | Pastor John Lomacang (tvsdac)

this morning we're going to open our Bibles to the book of Romans and we're going to peer into chapter 13 for the scripture reading of the day together we're going to read verse 11 to 14 you can read with me or you can follow along I'm reading from the New King James Version but whatever translation you have would be sufficient to follow along with me Romans chapter 13 verse 11 verses 11 through 14 and do this knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed the night is far spent the day is at hand therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light let us walk properly or honestly as in the day not in revelry and drunkenness not in lewdness and lusts not in strife and envy but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts let us pray father in heaven thank you father for the opportunity to allow your word to enter into our hearts as we now open your word we pray that your Holy Spirit will speak to us in this very urgent hour of arts history calibrate our minds that we may know what we must do and now that I pray that you'll take this message and communicate it Lord that the hearts of your people might be touched and our minds might be elevated to see Christ more beautifully and more clearly in Jesus name I pray amen two-minute warning two-minute warning come with me to the most intense period in pro football the two-minute warning if you've watched football before you know that it is the moment of unquestionable loyalty the moment when it is obvious whose side the fans are on and whose the fans are not on it is the moment of polarization the moment when polarity is absolute there is the side of the home team there is a side of the visiting team but when the two-minute warning is sounded and the adoring fans stand to their feet it is clear on whose side everyone stands at the two-minute warning there is no middle ground there are no neutral places everyone is on one side or the other the two-minute warning introduces the line of distinction and if the game is at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum picks you with me if you can for a moment when 93,000 fans are standing proclaiming their allegiance with thunderous tones everyone is either on one side or the other my brothers and my sisters we have reached the two-minute warning in Earth's history this is the moment that God is calling for us to establish unquestionable loyalty to Christ unquestionable loyalty to his word because polarization is taking place polarity is absolute there's the positive there is the negative there is a light there is darkness there is truth there is error there is right and there is wrong and we are living at the stage of the two-minute warning being sounded from heaven which says these words behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to give to everyone according as his work shall be as Jesus describes this panoramic view he announces in the following language in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 30 and because our screens are not working today you're gonna get to use your Bible can you say Amen you're gonna get to be familiar with your you're gonna find things in it that you did not know for a long time were actually there Matthew 12 and verse 30 Jesus describes this panorama 93,000 adoring fans proclaiming their allegiance and he stands up as it were on the field and quiets their thunderous tones with the words in Matthew 12 and verse 30 he that is not with me is where against me and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad my brothers and sisters this is the hour that we must be gathering with Jesus this is the hour of unquestionable loyalty that we must be proclaiming a message that says to those who don't know Christ to those who may have overlooked the message of salvation to those who may not know the urgency of the hour and if for any reason you might be in that Laodicean condition where you are lukewarm and not paying attention to what's happening in the world around you all you've got to do is take a look at the news for 15 minutes and our world is in trouble the only house that we can still rely on is the right house we've never been able to rely on the White House regardless of who was president come on say Amen the answers are not coming from Washington the answer comes from God's Word but for whatever reason from election to election we think that this is the next person that's going to actually fulfill what they have promised the only one that will fulfill what he has promised is Jesus Christ himself and so the polarization of the owl when you look at the instability of relations between the United States and other foreign countries when you look at the fluctuation of the stock market I have just recently began to educate myself because when my wife and I retire we don't have any stocks and bonds we're not wealthy people by any means but we just have a small retirement that's conference conference appointed and I look at me now and then and I get concerned when it starts going in the wrong direction when when when the world begins to tremor and when I see the S&P falling in and the the Dow Jones looks red instead of green but it is in those moments that I realize if I take my stand on the side of Christ I have no need to fear because my God will supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory but the moment of polarization calls for the people of God to claim to know the message for this time to take a firm stand that our colors may be clear because Jesus declares that in the final contest between light and darkness good and evil in Christ and Satan the middle of the road does not exist there are no three categories in the two-minute warning in a championship football game easy or with the home team or you are against easy you want them to win or you want them to lose but I must announce today Jesus has already won thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ but there are only two teams on the field the two-minute warning demands unity because an independent spirit guarantees failure you know one of the challenges is when the intensity of the two-minute warning is announced there is a tendency and I was reading some of the I don't use the word memoirs but some of the news reports and some of the magazine articles of coaches that have have experienced defeat and they say that at the two-minute warning there is a tendency in players that are very good at what they do there's a tendency in them to to awaken a a a spirit of Independence because they want to take the game into their own hands they want to win for the team but in most cases that independent spirit leads to failure they lean on their experience they lean on their salary and their popularity and their notoriety and their ability and their bid and their skill and they fail to listen to the directives of the coach and the team that has the experience and the end results are often tragic that is why the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that victory depends on the consistency of those who follow the written word of God look at 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14 it is so good to know that we're using our Bibles today 2nd Timothy 3 and verse 14 look at how the Apostle Paul reminds Timothy his his young understudy how important it is to remain dependent on the consistent Word of God 2nd Timothy 3 verse 14 he says but you must what is the very next word continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them this st. Paul warned Timothy that perilous times would come he also said to Timothy preach the word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine first him second Timothy chapter four and the reasons were clear he said for the time will come and I believe if he was prognosticating that in his day brethren that the time has come what time has come that men will not endure sound doctrine but after their own desires after their own lusts they will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears when you when you when you break that down and pause at the intersection of that text you begin to realize what that meant by teaching teachers having itching ears is they say I know what the Bible says but I was invited to be on a very popular local religious station not 3abn I went to a funeral and I performed a funeral for one of our church members not too far from here and and I met somebody that was involved in programming at this local the station not 3abn and they said why haven't we seen you on this program that's on this religious station that's local here not through APN and I said well I haven't been invited they said consider it done and the program was asked the clergy asked the pastor and so I was looking for my invitation letter to come and be a part of this panel because I had watched the program on a number of occasions and I sat frustrated to hear men of God claiming to be led of God's Word to blatantly consistently without forethought or even batting an eye attack God's Word and say completely opposite to what God were God's Word has revealed as one of our Sabbath school class members this morning said he was shocked when the question was just recently asked what happens when you die and every pastor on the panel says well you go immediately the heaven to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord that's not in the Bible Paul says I would rather be absent from the body and be present with the Lord but that very same Apostle Paul tells us how one day we're gonna be absent from this corruptible body and this mortal body and be present with the Lord in an incorruptible body and an immortal body amen and he says at the last Trump for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible right now everybody's sleeping so I was waiting for my letter and I got my letter I was so excited when the envelope came open it up to find out what day I was gonna be invited what program I was gonna be on but he said it is with regret that we inform you and I realize it was because Danny said you're not gonna get invited it's not gonna happen could it be that we are for whatever reason locally and internationally trumpeting the truth of God's Word the undiluted three angels messages one that will counteract the counterfeit could that possibly be a reason why somebody who embraces era would not invite you to tell the truth come on save me but I'm gonna go back again I went to the local radio station not local television station not the REA P n walked around and met off everybody there and had wonderful conversation with the pastors and the staff and they were very cordial I want to go back and make another appeal maybe I could be on the next maybe it'll happen eventually whether it happens or not we must make our allegiance clear that we stand on the undiluted Word of God come on say Amen and when we know that we have learned and been assured of the Word of God that does not change because the Lord does not change we don't have to worry about the future as a servant of the Lord says we have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us in his teachings and in our past history when you study God's Word and you establish a foundation of truth you don't have to worry it at any point in your journey of being misled because truth is truth on any day of the week it doesn't change it doesn't be it doesn't change with the times it doesn't change with the circumstances it doesn't change with popularity or notoriety it is not modified diluted delayed or deleted but when you think about that whole two-minute warning by the time the NFL team gets to the championship and I played football yeah I played football can you see my football build I played football I was not a linebacker Ryan would be a linebacker Dakota might be a running back like I was I would my job was to make sure that I get the ball to the end zone but my mind my aim was not to get hit that only lasted just about a half again and a guy that was 310 hit me in my helmet and I heard tones echo from my left ear to the right ear that I had not heard before and I immediately went to the sideline as I found it eventually and I said to my coach I quit first game of the season I quit and he was not a Christian I won't tell you how I knew that but as I walked away his voice became more and more faint and I was so glad because I didn't like what he was saying but I quit and I joined the basketball team instead and when they had the football game when they had the football trophies and jackets given out for the championship I didn't show up because it was Friday evening see I had to stand on the truth of God's Word and there was no one to tell me not to go but you know what as was the case with Timothy I continued into things that I had learned and been assured of and even though the lady that raised me passed away he was assembly Adventist Christian she raised me on the foundation of God's Word so even in her absence there was in me this little seed that was saying you know that that is not true and even before I got baptized at 19 years old after I took a journey that took me to the world cuz I wanted so badly as I became a disc jockey and a partier and a gambler in the pool hustler in the city of New York I wanted so badly to still do all that and be saved so I went to different churches to try to find out do I really have to keep the Sabbath to be saved I went to a Nazarene Church a Catholic Church of a Pentecostal church to find out do I really have to keep the Sabbath and what happened in that journey was each of those locations confirmed with such accuracy and validity and solidity as one pastor said when I asked him in the one church I said could you tell me what the Bible teaches about the Sabbath I was 17 years old I honestly wanted to know he said come with me young man he walked me up the steps from their crowded youth class of across the foyer to the front door and down the steps and I'm wondering do I have to walk that far to get an answer and he opened the door and he said to me don't you ever come back here again so I went to the Pentecostal Church next large Church right across the street from my house it's still there in Brooklyn he used to be owned by the Catholic Church but their membership dwindled down and became the property of a mega Pentecostal Church beautiful extends almost a whole block and I went and sat on the bishops office and I asked the same question and he said to me now don't tell me that you're gonna tell me that Roman Emperor Constantine introduced the first Sunday law and he started rattling off these historical facts and I thought you knew he said I'll be right back 47 minutes later when he didn't come back I got up and left then I went to the Catholic Church next to a priest that I had known from growing up everybody called him father John in the neighborhood every Sunday after the churches he'd take them to get ice cream and so I he'd gotten older and I figured I knew him from the years of getting ice cream from him and went to sit with him and talk about it and he said I said could you tell me about the Sabbath and and I finally got an answer he said well you know it is true that our church was instrumental in transferring it from Saturday to Sunday but were too far gone to change now enough I finally got my answer and so the disc jockey behind me the pool hustling in the gambling behind me rebaptised and my wife and I got married about four years later and I thought prays I'm not actually about six years later it's a praise Lord and I knew and I knew and so when Paul says that to Timnath Timothy you must continue into things that you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them it means when the truth of God has planted in your heart while you're young it's going to be the truth of God when you get old it doesn't change today there's a fear about truth because people are comfortable that's what the teachers having itching ears are all about they're comfortable and their motive lies in their way of life in the in their entertainment of Christianity Christianity is not an entertainers sport Christianity is not a pastime it should not be a part of your life it should be your life you're not Christians because the Sun sets on Friday and then sits again on Sabbath Saturday night you should be a Christian everyday you should worship the Lord every day but there's only one holy day so I did some study by the time the NFL team gets to the to the championship a couple of things happen one they prepared hundreds of hours of practice and preparation are behind them for that singular moment the two-minute warning the defensive and offensive coaches have strategized and pulled out their best plays for that moment they have merged years of experience into one contest for that very moment teams and coaches have studied their opponents videotapes you see there's sometimes another team's basketball and baseball and they try to figure out the signals of the opposite team when they do all these kinds of things what does that mean they want to figure out what is the next move the opponent is going to make you know what studying the Word of God is so why studying God's Word is so good because the Lord lets us know the next move that Satan is going to make remember the story in the book of first kings when the when the opposing army of Israel tried to figure out how does it really what we're thinking and they said well there's a man in Samaria who knows what you're thinking when you're in your bedchamber he's the man of God and God says in his word I believe is Amos 3 verse 7 surely the Lord God will do nothing except he reveal his secrets unto his servants the prophets so when God reveals in his word when God reveals in his word we can trust God's Word because God's Word is reliable when they get to the NFL championship they have picked their strengths and their weaknesses apart but weaknesses and strengths of their players and the weaknesses and strengths of the opposing team they know who to hit they know one baseball team if a right-handed player comes up they get a right-handed pitcher if a left-handed player they strategize because they have only one focus in mind and they gotta win this game they have sorted through strategies to neutralize their Challenger so by the time the two-minute warning is sounding the motto is take nothing for granted leave nothing to chance and my brothers and sisters we are living in the two-minute warning of the world take nothing for granted and leave nothing to chance that's why I've said on several occasions and I know sometimes it might sound like the kids on Charlie Brown you know years ago Charlie Brown whenever the adults talked you can only hear the children it's what they're saying but remember when the adults talk it would sound like this Wow Wow remember that anybody old enough to remember this they you never heard the dull talk it was like a long walk long and I know that maybe that's how it's getting when I invite you to prayer meeting maybe you just hear you don't hear me but why that is no laughing matter is because that's when the coaches and the players get together to study the strategies of the enemy that's when they get together to find out what they can do most effectively so that when the next hit comes it doesn't knock you down and neutralize you and take you out how could you miss a hundred and forty five hours of Bible study how can any player miss a hundred and forty-five hours of coaching and be ready for the two-minute warning it's impossible it's not possible they are fully aware that in the two minute nail-biting moment in just two nail-biting minutes the thrill of victory will overshadow the agony of defeat if there's one thing that they're motivated by they press together in that huddle they press together brother it's time for us as a people to press together and I believe when we begin to press together there will be no need for appeals to return tithe and offering tithe an offering is the least you can do in your allegiance to Christ but if your allegiance to Christ doesn't really matter then you don't owe him anything it doesn't even faze you on the tithes and offering is made there's a call didn't he you don't even think about it it's like well you waiting for a mansion that you're not even investing in but let me transition now in segue in comparison to the final contest between sin and righteousness no football championship could rival the moment that is just before us and if football players dedicate hours to study to win a temporal crown why our hearts not even moved today to dedicate hours to win an incorruptible crown why does it not even move our hearts how can a heart be so recalcitrant and so dormant and so cold that the announcement of Bible studies it's such a repulsive announcement I could imagine what a coach might say if he says the championship is in a month from now come to practice and a place is for what I know the game I played it before how much I'm a professional all my life I know I don't need to be there about that last game you know what happens this is what happens if the team ignores the practice if the team ignores practicing together studying together strategizing together that's why the Apostle says in Hebrews 10:25 forsake not the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some but all the more all the more seeing that that day like the like the sports for seeing that that day is approaching they know they got to be there and you also know this is a thing I've noticed in basketball do you know they even when a basketball player is injured he's sitting on the sidelines cheering on his teammates got a heck casts on can't do anything but he's right there come on he's excited and we should not be AWOL in this trying hour can I get an amen we should not be AWOL second Timothy two and verse 15 Timothy 2 and verse 15 2nd Timothy 2 and verse 15 study to show thyself approved unto God study or be diligent in the New King James Version a workman that needeth not to be ashamed how rightly dividing the word of truth if somebody cornered you right now can you defend your faith would you go down in flames with the statement I know it's in there somewhere and if you think that's something to just make you feel guilty no it ain't because we were told we will be brought before kings let's just go ahead and peek into the a little temple thing that's happening here in America and this is neither for nor against but what would you do if you are on the seat like these two individuals that were just recently drilled by the Senators this young lady in this judge would be judge what would you do if your life was put on display like that and you ask questions that dug into the fabric of your past to see your integrity or lack thereof what would you do well whether you know it or not we will be brought before kings and courts we will be grilled you don't think that's the case read the history of the Pioneers read the history of the Reformers when Martin Luther stood at the diet of warms he was standing there thank you so much he was standing there and was being grilled by the very power with once he stood being grilled by the Pope's and the bishops and the Archbishop's and he was being told to recant and to avoid and to abandon what you have once what you have now embraced when he found out that the just shall live by faith he no longer feared the power the monolith of Rome let me say something we have nothing to fear we don't I don't fear Lord I'm saying this humbly I don't fear Pope Francis himself because if God be for us who can be against us that's why Paul says we are more than conquerors through him that love this for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creative things shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord but how can it separate you when you went even with him he that is not with me is against me we're talking about being separated when we don't even want to be with him in a moment of peace the two minute warning every form of evil in the two minute warning of our world every form of evil is being fueled with a demonic intensity evil angel and evil men are uniting in a coalition against everything that's righteous now where are the people of God whether you know it or not the best modes of deception are being employed to obstruct the advancement of the gospel if the gospel can't change your life it's not going to change the people around you if they don't see what the impact of the gospel does to you you know what if our spiritual eyes were as physically displayed as football fans you know one of the things that I remember I was pastoring a church in California and we had some loyal 49er fans in our church when football season started they were there 49er jackets the church on sabbath they were there 49ers cap i literally had to ask them to stop it because sabbath became a football day rather than a holy day they're leather yellow and red jackets 49ers and say hey hey the Giants are playing tomorrow and they have their football parties and all I thought to myself would to God that they'd get that excited about the gospel if the Lord could spiritually x-ray us how much Jesus would he find in us how much word we find there because this Holy Spirit said I will only bring back to your to your remembrance what you have learned I'm not gonna try to find was not there go to the bank and try to get money out when you have put nun in that's why David said thy word have I hid in my glove compartment in my heart so you got to be careful because every uncouth thing as being practiced and it's amazing when Jesus began to outline the signs of the end yes he talked about earthquakes and fires and floods and wars and rumors of wars and pestilence and crime and violence and a nation rising against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom but on there was one particular thing he repeated over and over and over in Matthew Mark Luke and he began the signs of the end by saying this short statement to the disciples take heed that no one deceives you but he says false Christ's and false prophets will arise and will deceive many and when you look at the history of Christianity from age to age men and women have arisen claiming to be Christ claiming to have a message from Christ claiming to be the voice of God and you've seen what happened in Jonestown and in with David Koresh David Koresh was a young man in the Northern California conference when I was a pastor he would give Sabbath afternoon Bible studies in the church not too far from us he started out with good intentions he would invite the young people to get together and have his Bible studies and unfortunately somewhere along the way something clicked and some of them died with him there in Waco Texas but he started out with good intentions all my brother it's not how your journey begins but it's how your journey continues that's why I look at the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians to the church at Galatia Galatians chapter one and verse a look at what he said to them in the gospel that we know is true we must stand with that gospel because we are living in an age of diluting of the gospel of reinterpretation of the gospel there are people today even amongst us that are questioning whether or not the Holy Spirit really is a person of the Godhead lord have mercy and you know why the devil has chosen that because he knows the Bible says grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption if I get to the place where I deny his divinity I won't even be sealed and if you think there's an argument as to whether or not he's a part of the Godhead read the story of Ananias and Sapphira when Ananias and Sapphira came in and lied to Peter Peter said why has Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit you have not lied to men but to God well how could he me how could he not be God when Peter said eclis you've not lied to men but to God somebody said well even in Adventism people nowadays tripping because the Holy Spirit let me tell you something the devil is pulling out all stops if this were one of those massive organs in Carnegie Hall he would pull out every stop and he's rattling our minds you know why he's able to rattle it because there's nothing there empty barrels make the most noise but if you fill it up that's why the Apostle Paul warned the church at Galatia in Galatians 1 in verse 8 notice what he said but the message that God had given them about the validity of the of the nature of Christ and the in the divinity of Jesus he says but even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you let him be accursed he said even if an angel came and why did he say that because Satan himself appears as an angel of light that's why I thank the Lord for the servant of the Lord who takes the words of God and bring them into a contemporary context in testimonies for the church volume 5 page 295 she says the following this is a powerful this is in fact building on what the Bible is already revealed and let me put some foundation if Satan knows that the tactics the tactics he's used in his past have been successful why would he have to change his tactics if it worked on two perfect people and it created confusion among the Israelites as they journey from Egypt to Canaan he inserted some of the Egyptians in there and some of the Israelites lost their faith because they listened to the wrong voice but if you think the devil was intense then he knows he has but a short time he's come down having great wrath because he knows I wish we knew how short the time was servant of the Lord says Satan hopes to involve the remnant Church the remnant people of God in the general ruin that is coming upon the earth he's got the world wrapped up as the coming of Christ draws near he will be more determined and decisive in his efforts to overthrow them men and women will arise professing to have some new light or some new revelation whose tendency is to unsettle faith in the old landmarks their doctrines will not bear the test of God's Word yet souls will be deceived it happened in Galatia it happened in the Old Testament Israel it's going to continue until the very end but the only safeguard is the Word of God hidden in our hearts that's the only safeguard if the tests are established in the Old Testament and New Testament but the Apostle Paul once again santé Timothy in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and verse 13 look at that if you can turn there with me but I'm gonna go ahead and read it he says concerning the times in which we live and also beginning in his day he says but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived now pause and think about that for a moment while they're deceiving us they themselves are being deceived follow this now if if they knew that the devil was using them they wouldn't let him use them but they're deceiving us and he's deceiving them deceiving is that amazing deceiving and being deceived that's tragic because what it's saying is they are so blind to the one to whom they have given their allegiance that they have no idea that they are puppets in the hand of a puppeteer ever arrah arrah never introduces itself but error is always seductive an error is never harmless look at Colossians 2 in verse 4 he says again to the church to the Colossians now this I say lest anyone should be to see lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words King James Version says enticing words what's the difference between persuasive and enticing not really any at all but what it means by enticing is you see a desert and you say whew that looks good and it looks so good you forget that you have an allergy to nuts and your appetite supersedes your prohibitions and you take it and before you know it you're you're closing your Airways you cannot breathe the very health that you once enjoyed is slipping away from you and it all had to do with your eyes saw what was not good for your body enticing words you see Satan knows how to make error attractive he he he covers false statements with alluring phrases think about it let me outline the the the the the steps of deception the steps of deception are gradual are what church gradual you don't have to you don't have to fall off a cliff immediately you just have keep getting too close to it HUD see follow-up she was standing too close and you got there not because somebody put you there but you forgot the danger because you got enamored by the sight don't allow what your eyes see to remove your cautions the steps of deception or gradual it introduces itself in stages listen carefully oh studying this out this weekend and look at some of the things that the Lord revealed in his word and through the writings of the Lord's servant first of all one one error is introduced it seems original and appears not to conflict with the truth take Eve for an example when the devil said to Eve has God said he immediately inserted in her mind let's think about what God has said I'm not saying he didn't say it but tell me what you think he said and she introduced into the conversation something God never said God never said lest you touch it he never said that but giving the devil that ammunition he seized the fruit put it in her hand and since she didn't die when she touched it it made it so much easier just to eat it it seems original and appears not to conflict with the truth and they continued talking very dangerous my brother and sister because the more you talk about error the more important it seems and the more beautiful that starts to look after a while thirdly it becomes all absorbing it becomes the theme around which everything begins to revolve and you say to yourself every time I see that person that's all they're talking about that's all they're talking about here they come again that's all they're talking about all absorbing and finally when it has permeated every avenue of their soul the truth is finally abandoned and they no longer loved what they had look at 2nd Thessalonians 2 and verse 10 that's why I like what Daniel said in our class today he says you gotta love the truth come Oh stay there with me you got to do you gotta love the truth why would a person love a lie when Eve fell for Satan's suggestion it's amazing the first book of the Bible and the last book of the Bible points out the reason why we're in the mess were in is because Eve fell for a lie Adam opened the door to sin wholeheartedly she was beguiled or deceived but then the revelation says those that will not be in the kingdom are those who love and make a lie look at 2nd Thessalonians 2 in verse 10 and with all unrighteous deception or with all deceivableness of unrighteousness as the King James Version says among those who perish because they did not receive the what the love of the truth that they might be saved you know once you find out mister days miss Stephanie day I say that in the presence of our students mrs. day once you know that two and two is four I'm not gonna argue to try to figure out that two and two is not four I read the story about a lady that took math three years in college in the same math she took and the guidance counselor called it to the offices why do you keep taking the same math every year she said because every other class I have change is just messing me up but the one thing I can rely on is two and two is for every year that's how the truth is it doesn't change amen it doesn't change you could be the most astute professor you can have all the qualifications that have placed you in the places of high degree and great esteem but you cannot tell me on any given day that two and two is not four and now I want to really mess your mind up deception is an art born and mastered by Satan but the problem is many of us think that we possess this natural intellect to resist deception allow me to introduce Exhibit A go with me to first Kings chapter 13 allow me to introduce Exhibit A the deception the seduction and the death the deception the seduction and the eventual death this is a powerful story my wife and I and for those of you may be watching you wonder can he keeps he keeps saying his wife and him what's his wife named Angela my wife Angela and I we read our Bibles and we're going through second kings but if you want to really look at the trek or the trajectory of Israel and why why we go through some of the things we go through study the life of Israel and their leaders you'll begin to see why we are in the position we're in you see over and over it says in second Kings it speaks about a man who preceded the the prior king or the prior leader of Israel and it says that he died and it says are not the rest of his accident in the book of The Chronicles of the kings and the answer is yes and it says it over and over and over again and it says he did what was right in the side of the Lord according to all that his father David had done and I we dread reading the next verse because as however the high places were not torn down you may be a wonderful person but if your worship and what you teach continues to preserve falsehoods it's as if you're guilty of it yourself look at first Kings 13 very quick story the nutshell of it is Jeroboam resisted the call of God resisted the man of God and his hands shrivel he was his hand shriveled up he was he was resistant to God and when you look at the effect the sin of Jeroboam went from generation to generation to generation to generation it just every king that followed Jeroboam it says but the sin of Jeroboam he led Israel into false worship but look at verse 7 to 9 so the Lord sends a man of God to Jeroboam and Jeroboam is healed and he's so excited that he is healed that he invites the man of God to come home with him for seven we pick up the narrative you can read the whole story when you get home then the King said to the man of God that's Jeroboam come home with me and refresh yourself and I will give you a reward he's so excited that the Lord healed him but the man of God said of the king if you were to give me half your house I would not go in with you nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place I'm not gonna have any kind of fellowship with you no no way and here's the reason why for soul it was commanded me by the word of the Lord saying you shall not eat bread nor drink water nor return by the same way you came that was the first test so the man of God walks away unharmed unscathed his first test was through the King Jeroboam and because he endured the first test he thought there would be no more tests after that he felt like God as the King couldn't stop me something good so Satan looking at this younger man of God changed his approach are you ready for the step one Satan chose an experienced prophet to go after an inexperienced prophet look at verse 11 to 14 now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the King and their father said to them that's the older prophet said to his sons which way did he go be careful Satan is watching out which way you're going for his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah then he said to his sons saddled the donkey for me so they saddled the donkey for him and he rode it and went after the man of God he did what the devil went after the man of God he went after the man of God the younger man by a prophet that was older a person of experience and found him sitting under an oak then he said him are you the man of God who came from Judah and he said I am I sure have watch what happens second step Satan used a well-crafted lie to get him to ignore God's to recommend and then he neutralized his suspicions by claiming that they share a common connection let's look at this common connection verse 13 verse 16 to 18 the common connection that neutralized his urgency his suspicion and he said to the to the old prophet I cannot return with you now go with you neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place for I have been told by the word of the Lord you shall not eat bread nor drink water there no return by going the way you came and here's the hook look out for the hooks my brother and sister the common connection that neutralizes our suspicion and he said in verse 18 I too am a prophet as you are I'm just like you are I'm no different and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord saying bring him back with me to your house that he may eat bread and drink water and the Bible says he was lying to him but by mentioning the commonality the common connection he neutralized his suspicions you're an Adventist also you go to the same church I go to you seem denomination I'm a member okay I guess we're okay my brother be careful the only measure of safety is God's Word and the third step Satan convinced him to change his direction by ignoring God's instruction verse 13 verse 19 look at what the young man did heed the Lord said don't go back but look what he did in verse 19 so he went back and ate bread in his house and drank water and then verse 22 22 the deceptive prophet revealed himself at the end of the story is a tragic one but here it is verse 24 by the time that young man realized he had ignored God's Word he was now eating with a deceptive prophet he tried to run for his life and the Bible says in verse 24 when he was gone a lion met him on the road and killed him and his corpse was thrown on the road and the donkey stood by it the lion also stood by it and when you read the rest of the story people walked by and they said is that not the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord my brother and when God gives you truth don't let anybody change our direction don't let anybody neutralize you by mentioning commonalities and neutralizing your suspicions check everything out by God's Word come on get an amen somewhere it only took one man to deceive it only took one person to deceive the man of God because he accepted the lie that he was told in Maranatha page 59 in paragraph 6 listen to this this is amazing thing if that if that man really was the man of God if that old prophet really was being led by God the young prophet would have known it and oh my says Maranatha page 59 paragraph 60 says God has not passed his people by and chosen one solitary man here and another there as the only ones worthy to be entrusted with this truth he does not give one man new light contrary to the established faith of the body but in every reform men have risen making this claim just in case you think that everyone that appears righteous is righteous go with me now to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 and I'm telling you brethren this is the two-minute warning game is about to wind up we are living in the closing hours of Earth's history do you believe that the two-minute warning I'm trying to sharpen your your your discretionary eyes and make the Word of God your book of of discernment the devil knows he's converted he doesn't look like the devil by the way doesn't have a red cape don't have no pitchfork that's why he's successful second Corinthians 11 verse 13 to 15 the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians speaking of the deception that came in among them he says for such are false apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of Christ and he says and no wonder are no Marvel for Satan himself does what transforms himself into an angel of light therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transformed themselves into what ministers of righteousness whose end will be according to their works two-minute warning my brother and my sisters the devil is hitting hard but if you're not in your word if you don't know what you believe if you had not measured and tested it and refined it and got out all the bugs somebody would come along and tell you stuff that's not there and because they look the part like the devil is able to transform himself they'll transform themselves and look the part and before you know it I'm a prophet also but the first step towards darkness is abandoning truth John chapter 12 and verse 35 I'm moving I'm moving expeditiously for a reason I don't want too much edited out of my sermon John 12 verse 35 look at the words of Jesus the first step toward darkness is abandoning truth just a step at a time then jesus said to them that is to his disciples a little while longer and the light is with you and look at what he says walk while you have the light lest darkness overtake you he who walks in darkness what does it say does not know where he is going doesn't know but when you follow the Lord you will know you know why because he declares from the end from the beginning from ancient times things that are not yet done that's why we are told we gotta be we cannot allow and I I learned this in the school of hard knocks confessions good for the soul hard on the reputation as a young man when I was all enthusiastic I had more gasoline than intellect because I just want to preach you know how to preach all the food groups and all the doctrines you just beaten everybody over the head don't do this do that don't do this don't eat that don't wear that and I said I was preaching one day I said God is the judge Jesus is the lawyer and I know old dear st. said to me young man I enjoyed your sermon but that was incorrect and they show me the Father has committed all judgment unto the son and you know what when I learned that Jesus is my judge on my lawyer I said the court is fixed in my favor amen he who has the son has life and then I got and then when I was young I looked at all these doctrines that were not really clear yet in the Adventist Church and I started coming up with my own interpretation and I created more confusion than unity and I spoke to the Brethren and they said brethren this is not right this is not we can't endorse this leave it alone and I left it alone because there's more in the Bible that has been confirmed that we don't have to go into dark places trying to figure it out for ourselves proverbs 11 in verse 14 very quickly I'm going to say it proverbs 11 and verse 14 where there is no counsel that people fall but in the multitude of counselors there is safety there's what my brother safety let it be a multitude of counselors and people of great experience once again in Maranatha beautiful book about the end times page 59 in paragraph 6 the servant of the Lord says there are a thousand temptations in disguise prepared for those who have the light of truth for those who have the what light of truth the devil is not concerned about those who are in darkness in darkness but if you have the answer to somebody's life he's concerned about you because he doesn't want anyone to be saved but I love Jesus because he doesn't want anyone to perish and the light of the truth of God's Word is our safety but she says there are thousand temptations in disguise prepared for those who have the light of truth and the only safety for any of us is in receiving no new doctrine no new interpretation of the Scriptures without first submitting it to brethren of experience lay it before them in a humble teachable spirit with earnest prayer and if they see no light in it yield to their judgment that's why the Lord gave elders in Israel so they could judge in matters that's why Solomon asked for wisdom so I could know what did what is right and what is wrong but if you leave that to your own discretion you will be on the ground of danger because there's safety and a multitude of counselors that's why I appreciate I had a conference president that helped mold me as a young man taught me how to hold board meetings how to deal with opposition how to deal with rebellion how to deal with people that are trying to cut me down behind my back I remember one Sabbath they had my elders I was passing out a beautiful doctrinal beautiful doctrinal study in my church and they didn't like it so they got rid of it in the fore yeah they hid it all after church I was gonna give her your body one I said what happened to and when a deacon said one of the elders took it I don't know what happened to it young men in the ministry I still had black hair but what they didn't know I had 400 more copies on my desk so this young man I didn't from that point I didn't ask for any help I wouldn't got the 400 copies and I went to the door myself and made sure everybody that came got one and I called my conference president who had retired at the time and I said elder of experience he was in the ministry like 52 years elder what do I do he said call a meeting right now don't let him get away with that call them on the carpet right now I call my elders together and he sat right by my side and he said let me tell you what to say and I said it and God blessed I said don't you ever undermined the authority that God has given to me in this church if I'm doing something that's aera call me to attention but don't ever do that again and our church grew and thrived not because of me but because we finally found a point of the unity if it's true the order stand together come on say Amen but if it's Arab pull them aside and let people know but do not allow this undercurrent of division to be the foundation of any movement and I learn in a very real way but as I close let me give you a few more points and I'm gonna wind up right here in about two minutes but the words I'm going to close with from the Word of God are very vitally important you see I saw on History Channel the story of a young lion a young lion cub that the mother was teaching the young lion how to get lunch and since they didn't have a McDonald's or Wendy's they had to go out and catch it and the cameraman I I praise God for those cameramen they put their lives on the danger just so we could say that was really nice they're out there in the middle of nowhere lions walking around and tigers and they're this close from the face and the lion goes like this and I don't know how they don't see him but so this little line they show now they said he's tracking his prey and it was a cute little cub I want to pick him up and they said he's tracking his cub but he is learning the art of the hunt and he cannot allow his prey to hear his footsteps and they said and their kit and all of a sudden this little cub steps on a twig and you just hear this and the deer turns he said he just lost his meal for the day because he stepped on an ever so slight twig in all the deer herd was and they were gone in the cub in defeat he just backed up they heard me and they said he must practice this again and again and again until his footsteps on noiseless until they can't hear his footsteps only then has he sharpened the skill to survive in the wild well the servant of the Lord says Satan steps are noiseless his movements are stealthy his batteries are masked he does not venture to show himself openly lest he arouse the Christians dormant energies and send him to God in prayer maranatha page 59 and the Bible backs that up in 1st Peter 5:8 be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour my brother is my sister my message today to you is an appeal to you to be awake to be what awake don't prejudge or judge anybody in your own discretion if you see something that you don't understand don't tag a person don't break a bruised Reed and quench your smoking flax don't take it in yourself but submit to the leadership pray and ask God for guidance and still don't take it upon yourself but submit to those who got put in positions of leadership but may God's Word be your guide you see if we don't realize it in this hour where Satan is converted after the modern order of things he has no desire but one and the Dragon is angry with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus don't ever think yourself a match for the devil we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places study the Old Testament 1st and 2nd Kings problem with all the Kings that led Israel they did not tear down the high places um tearing down the high places there will be no high places in this church the only high place is where Jesus sits and the only foundation upon which we live our lives and govern it is by the unerring Word of God and the reveal counsel of God through the servant of the Lord when anything comes that you don't understand submit it to brethren of experience you will save yourself as Paul said to Timothy continue in the doctrines by so doing you'll both save yourself and those that hear you it's not about labeling individuals it's about being awake we're living in an hour of urgency we're living in the two-minute warning of urgency don't get sidetracked 'add don't get distracted by side issues don't embrace teachings that divide submit to the counsel and experience and the veracity of God's Word don't ignore nor dismiss what God's Word reveals and has already establishes truth don't put your salvation in the hands of any individual and anything or anyone that causes confusion avoid them I had that text and for whatever reason I went right by it Paul says to Timothy he said it so clearly he said it so clearly to this young man he said so clearly that we must avoid Romans here it is Romans 16 verse 17 now I urge you brethren note those who cause division and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have heard and avoid them my last passage avoid avoid and my last verse 1st Corinthians 1 in verse 10 what is God's desire for his people here it is 1st Corinthians 1 in verse 10 now I plead with you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all together speak the what same thing there'd be no division among you but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment that answers the prayer of Jesus that answers the prayer of Jesus what was the prayer of Jesus I pray that we may be one even as he and the father are one I pray that we may be one and if you think the devil is not concerned about us if he could shut down the truth of God the rest of the world will be in abject darkness I like young men like Dakota in in Ryan and all of you who are fuel with one desire and that is to uplift the truth of God's Word only as the city is on a hill only as the candle is being seen can the truth of God's Word accomplish what God intends for you to accomplish so come with me to the most intense period in church history the two-minute warning this is the moment that God calls for unquestionable loyalty because polarization is almost complete polarity is almost complete and absolute in these closing hours of Earth's history there is no middle ground there are no neutral places this is the hour where the line of distinction has to be drawn because one day on the sea of glass and a numbered crown of adoring Saints will proclaim their allegiance in thunderous tones and in this solemn hour every will be everyone will be identified with one side or the other and my question is will will you stand as your pastor my wife and I travel yeah we go and we preach around the world and we do various things but don't let that trouble you because God has given that gift and that responsibility but you be diligent you be sober you be watchful you be in your Bible you commit yourself before the Lord the Apostle Paul was an itinerant preacher only in America let me say that again only in America I'll say that one more time only in America the churches need to be babysat the pastor that was with me in Colombia he has 23 churches I said how often do you visit them he said sometimes they don't see me for two years but my churches are growing why because the leaders have taken their positions seriously only in America has the past have been exalted as some kind of movie star Joel Olsteen and I know you haven't exalt me that way and please do not do that and I don't think you will but you should be looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of your faith you should be in the Word of God my absence should not spell your demise if you are walking with Jesus we have elders and I praise God for our elders and their responsibilities and they take their position seriously elder elder Lewis Capote is our head elder all of our elders are here they take their calls seriously we have deacons and deaconesses they take their calls seriously for me you spend your days in the study of God's Word may you put your life before don't don't put this in a closet somewhere and try to find it when the lights are out let your light shine the Word of God is alight if it's in here it will shine all the time and when the Devils see your light shiny Heat gone up I'm gonna say like this into your he gonna pass you by he's gonna pass your house by and go somewhere else let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven if that's your desire to be a people of urgency get back in the word if you don't come to prayer meeting I don't mind if you're at home studying but don't be complacent and the closing act in the drama of the ages if it's your desire to be a dedicated Christian dedicated to the study of God's Word dedicated to prayer and taking advantage of the time we are granted by this peaceful environment if anybody should be ready soldiers we should be if it's your desire to be a ready soldier there could be changes in your life but I'm calling you today to rededication if you want to be that kind of soldier that's ready could you stand with me today could you stand with me today could you pray for my wife and me we ain't going around the world swimming and oceans we only had one vacation this year and the conference just told me I have five weeks left now I'm just going to encourage you I'm not taking five weeks vacation I can't do that but why not when we're not here we're on the battlefield for the Lord but you should be on the battlefield every day studying your manifest and putting on the whole armour of God I don't feed you I don't clothes you I don't come to your house and vacuum your carpet and you ain't gonna starve because I didn't bring food to your house but there's only one thing more important than physical food that is the spiritual food of God's Word and only those that are fortified by the Word of God will stand through this last great conflict that should be your dedication amen church

Channel: Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church

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Length: 73min 5sec (4385 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 06 2018