Christopher Hudson Are You Rich Or Poor? 81220AM

it's a blessing and a privilege to be here with you amen and i do believe that the lord has brought us all together here on these campgrounds for such a time as this that he might bless us richly what is your thought on that amen you know we're living in very precarious times i don't think that's something that has eluded any of us but it's in times like these that we have the opportunity to see the mighty hand of god work in our behalves i'll say that again it's in times like these that we actually have the opportunity to see the mighty hand of god work in our behalves it's in human extremities where we get to see the lord work mightily and so as we see extreme situations coming upon the human family we can know that the lord is getting ready to do mighty things and even now he's working mightily on our behalf well without any further ado as it is my tradition i always love to encourage everyone to do two things and number one please pray for yourself as we study the word of god as we seek the face of the lord that's what we come together in camp meetings like this for it's to seek the face of god and although we have different although we have different obstacles that we're up against god would still have us with all of our heart mind and soul seeking him for a deeper experience an experience that will enable us to be able to go through the times that are right before us this is just a test run brothers and sisters this is just a test run this is really giving us an opportunity to take an inventory of our faith take an inventory of our spirituality where do we stand with the lord and i hope that's what we're doing and i hope that as you're coming here to these meetings that's what you're seeking after just wanting the lord to speak more intimately to your mind how many people are seeking after that type of experience i'll be quite honest i wasn't sure if i was going to be here i wasn't sure if i was going to be here but as i as the days came closer and i was as i was talking with the lord i knew i needed to be here and i believe that whenever the lord sends us and he brings us he has something for us and so i'm not just here to share i'm here to receive what the lord has for me so without any further ado like i said as it is my tradition i always love to encourage everyone to do two things number one please pray for yourself because every time the word of god is opened it is god's desire it is god's desire to give us a more full comprehension of his character and clear understanding of the plan of salvation and a more intimate knowledge of what his purpose is for our lives but you'll never get that type of information from a man you only get that type of information from the spirit of god and so if it is your desire to have a fruitful experience as we study the word of god together my simple encouragement to you is to pray and ask the lord to be your teacher ask for god to be your instructor ask for him to be your guide john 16 13 tells us how be when he the spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he hears that shall he speak and he will show you things to come if ever there was a time that we really wanted to have some clarity as to what is up over the next hill i think it's right now and the spirit of the lord is the one that will give us an understanding of not just what's going on right now but what is to happen in the very near future amen and so let's pray and ask for the spirit of god to be our instructor and please pray for myself as well that i'll just be a vessel in the hand of the lord to do as he chooses so as it is my tradition i'm going to kneel to pray at this time if you're inclined to do so i invite you to kneel if you're not capable of doing so all i'm asking you to do is bow your head right now and just take the next few moments 60 seconds to be precise and pray silently in your hearts for the lord to have his own way in our midst and then when you hear my voice i'll close this out in prayer let's pray ugh father in heaven lord god of the universe we thank you for blessing us with this beautiful weather the nice breeze that is coming under the tent even now all of these things speak to our senses concerning your love for all mankind and father to your heart that we make our appeal this morning in the name of jesus that you would please send forth your holy spirit to minister unto our weak and needy hearts jesus you said if ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more would your father which is in heaven give the holy spirit unto them that ask him and so lord grant us the holy spirit the comforter the spirit of truth may he quicken us and convict us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment and lord we're praying that you would cleanse our hearts from every stain of sin and iniquity that is offensive to you because we want your presence to tabernacle not just with us but in us lord we dedicate this time in our lives to your service open our ears and open our hearts for this we ask and pray in the worthy name of jesus amen i want to invite you to open your bibles with me we're going to go to the book of revelation chapter 16. once again we're going to revelation the 16th chapter and i want you to begin with me at verse 13 revelation chapter 16 and we're going to begin at the 13th verse the bible tells us here and i beheld three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet for these are the spirits of devils working miracles which have gone forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of god almighty so we're looking at these three unclean spirits the bible likens them unto frogs they're coming out of the mouth of three different entities these entities are the dragon the beast and the false prophet now it's not my objective to define from the scriptures to you right now what these prophetic symbols stand to identify but i really want to point out that out of their mouths are coming these three unclean spirits like frogs and the bible says that these three unclean spirits like frogs they are the spirits of what they're the spirits of devils they're the spirits of devils working miracles and the objective of these spirits of devils working miracles that are going forth out of the dragon the beast and the false prophet is to gather every nation kindred tongue and people unto satan to march against god in the battle of armageddon to gather the nations together that they might march against god in the final conflict for the sake of time i am going to give you an understanding very quickly as to what some of these symbols stand as a prophetic indicator of the the the false prophet is a prophetic symbol to identify the activities of apostate protestantism so that's all these fallen churches the apostate churches those churches that have not continued on in the truth these are symbolized under the false prophet the beast we know to stand as a symbol of the first beast of revelation chapter 13 and that is the antichrist power the papal power the roman catholic church led out by the pope are we all clear on this so far and i really do encourage you to study these things out be berean receive the word of god with readiness but search them out daily to see whether they be so and the dragon if i ask you what the dragon stands as a symbol of you're going to tell me that the dragon is a symbol of the devil and you're correct because in revelation chapter 12 12 and verse 19 your bible there quickly revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. revelation chapter 12 looking at the ninth verse the bible tells us there that the great dragon was cast out that old serpent called the devil and satan which deceiveth the whole world he was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him so the dragon primarily stands as a symbol of the devil in bible prophecy but there is a secondary application for the dragon as well begin with me at verse three same chapter revelation chapter 12 beginning at verse three the bible says and there appeared another wonder in heaven behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered for to devour her child as soon as it was born and she brought forth a man-child which was to rule all nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up unto god and to his throne notice here in revelation chapter 12 in particular in verse 4 the bible says the tale of the dragon drew a third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth but then it goes on to say that the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered to devour her child as soon as it was born now what is a woman a symbol of in bible prophecy i'm giving you opportunity to study the scriptures with me a church we have a lot of scriptures in the bible that identify this as a reality jeremiah 6 and verse 2 tells us i've likened the daughter of zion unto a calmly and delicate woman second corinthians 11 and verse 2 tells us form jealous over thee with a godly jealousy if i have espoused you unto one husband that i might present you as a chaste virgin to christ so clearly a woman in bible scripture can stand as a symbol of the church and so the bible is letting us know that the dragon stood up against the church of god to devour this man child that would be that would be born unto the people of god as soon as he was born and who is that man child that was born into god's people his church god's son are we go with me to isaiah chapter nine i see you're hesitant to answer isaiah chapter nine in isaiah chapter nine this is a familiar scripture all of us here in isaiah chapter nine and we're going to look at the sixth verse in isaiah chapter nine looking at verse six the bible says unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace now we know this is a messianic prophecy concerning jesus christ himself it's true say amen so the man child that was born unto the people of god is jesus christ so it makes the prophecy very clear to be understood because the scripture is telling us back in revelation chapter 12 that the dragon the devil stood up against the people of god at the very time that jesus was born and he sought to he sought to destroy or to destroy he sought to destroy or to take out the life of the messiah at the very time of his birth now is there any scripture in the bible where we will see the devil with seven heads and ten horns standing up against mary to consume jesus as he came out of her womb i like how somebody said they're not quite that way i think you're quite correct but if you go with me let's go to the book of matthew matthew chapter 2 matthew chapter 2 matthew chapter 2 and i'm taking the time to look at this right now because we're going to look at something later on this week that is going to bring all of these things together let's look at it today though in matthew chapter 2 beginning at verse 1. the bible tells us now when jesus was born in bethlehem of judea in the days of herod the king behold wise men came from the east to jerusalem so at the very time of the birth of jesus christ we're told that herod was ruling and he was ruling under the authority that was conferred upon him by the pagan roman empire the bible tells us in verse 18 same chapter verse 18. revelation excuse me matthew chapter 2 and verse 18 the scripture says that when herod saw that he was mocked of the wise men he was exceeding wrath are we seeing the character of the dragon right there in matthew chapter 2 and verse 18 the bible says that herod was exceeding wrath in revelation chapter 12 and verse 17 we're told that the dragon was wroth with the woman and here we see herod expressing the character of the dragon and what does he do he sent forth and slew all the children that were in bethlehem and in all the coaster of from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men and so we see the fulfillment of the prophecy that's spoken of in the book of revelation chapter 12 and verse 4 and we see the fulfillment of this prophecy being carried out by the pagan roman empire seeking to wipe out the life of jesus christ at the very time of his birth because the devil used pagan rome as a medium to carry out his insidious agenda because the devil loves to use mediums we saw that right back in the book of genesis chapter 3 when the scripture told us now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the lord god had made so in a very secondary in a very accurate and secondary sense pagan rome the activities of pagan rome are identified under the symbol of the dragon in the book of revelation chapter 12 and verse 4. are we all clear on that but pagan rome is not the only empire or kingdom in the bible that is identified under the symbol of the dragon i want you to go with me to the book of ezekiel chapter 29 ezekiel 29 and verse 3 now ezekiel chapter 29 and let's look at the third verse ezekiel 29 and verse 3. and don't forget these things because i'm not going to go over this again so keep this in your mind because we're going to look at something later on this week in ezekiel 29 and verse 3 the bible tells us speak and say thus saith the lord i'm against thee pharaoh king of egypt the great dragon that lieth in the midst of what of his what rivers do you see that god identifies egypt as a dragon as well do you see that in your bibles like it's in my bible so not only did god identify the activities of pagan rome under the symbol of the dragon but he also identified the activities of egypt under the symbol of the dragon why because pagan rome and egypt had many things in common pagan rome and egypt were two kingdoms two empires that we can clearly clearly see in the scripture that rebelled against the living god they rejected the worship of the true and living god pagan roman egypt were two kingdoms that were responsible for the persecuting of the people of god and pagan rome and egypt were two empires two kingdoms that embraced spiritualism as the belief system of their empires spiritualism was the root of the matter it's because of their spiritualist tenets or philosophies that they embraced that put them in a position where they would not only reject god but persecute those that were the followers of god because when one is engaged in spiritualism you put yourself in a position where you become an emissary of satan and the reason i've taken the time just to look at this concerning the dragon is because in revelation chapter 16 and verse 13 where the scripture tells us that these three unclean spirits like frogs are coming out of the mouth of the dragon and of the beast and the false prophet what we are looking at is apostate protestantism under the false prophet papalism or the roman catholic church or the antichrist system under the beast and under the dragon we are looking at the activities of satan through the medium of spiritualism so we are looking at this three-fold union that is spoken of in the book the great controversy that is responsible for the developing of the image of the beast are you all with me right now please don't forget this the dragon the beast the false prophet spiritualism romanism and apostate protestantism collectively confederate to develop this image of the beast and what is proceeding forth from them all these three unclean spirits but what are they in reality they are the spirits of devils what are devils brothers and sisters fallen angels so we have three fallen angels going throughout the world to gather the nations under the umbrella of satan what does that sound like to you that sounds like a counterfeit three angels messages to me what about you there's a gathering process that's going on right now and at the very time that the devil is seeking to gather the nations together god has given us a work and our work is clearly spoken of in the book of revelation chapter 14 begin with me at verse six there you know it by heart but please look at it in your bibles in revelation chapter 14 beginning at verse six the bible tells us and after these things matter of fact and i saw another angel doing what flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell upon the earth and to every nation kindred tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear god and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is brothers and sisters how close do you think we are to the closing of the judgment hour how close do you think we are to the closing of human probation i believe that we're closer than what we think and the world is terrified did you hear what i said brothers and sisters the world is scared interesting enough i was just speaking to a friend of mine that lives in new zealand he's actually the guy that does some of my really special graphics for me special special ones that i can't do we spoke we spoke not even 24 hours ago we were talking about how he and his wife were making good of the quarantine so she's five months pregnant you didn't get that it's okay and we were just talking about all the things that are going on in the world and i said so how is it over there in new zealand and he says ah it's good you know everything's almost all back to normal right now we're not wearing masks i woke up this morning i got a message from him he says we're back on lockdown he said we were just talking about this last night the world is scared brothers and sisters god has given us a very special work to do and that's to preach the everlasting gospel to every nation kindred tongue and people the work that we should have done in times past we are going to now have to do under some of the worst circumstances ever call porters are now telemarketers you didn't hear me people are scared but the bible tells us in the book of matthew chapter 24 and verse 14 that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come the end is not going to come as a result of a conflict between the u.s and china or any of these other things that people are concerned about climate change is not going to bring this world to a dramatic climax the preaching of the everlasting gospel is what's going to bring this world to an end we literally have within our possession the most potent agency in existence the everlasting gospel and we're the most impotent agency in existence did you understand what i just said we have within our possession the most powerful agency and that is the everlasting gospel and we who yield the everlasting gospel we are the most impotent agencies on the face of planet earth we're terrified the gospel is going to go throughout this whole world one way or another you know as i thought about this before i thought to myself this this great advent movement this seventh-day adventist church we have a presence in almost every quarter of this globe i've been to some interesting places and in a little corner i'll find seventh-day adventism i mean i've gone into some jungle areas adventism we're there the work still needs to be extended but brothers and sisters make no mistake about it we have a presence and one would think then why hasn't the end come as of yet you can think of every christian denomination just rattle them off one by one presbyterian catholic episcopalian lutheran baptist pentecostal church of god church of god of christ church of jesus god of christ you name it and you ask any of them why are they functioning what is their purpose for existence and they will tell you to preach the gospel if the gospel is being preached then why are we all still here talking about the gospel is there a problem with the gospel there's absolutely nothing wrong with the gospel so where does the problem lie the problem lies with us when jesus spoke of the gospel go with me to the book of luke luke chapter 4 luke chapter 4 and i want you to look with me at the 18th verse jesus had something interesting to say about the gospel in two places in particular he made the very same statement concerning the gospel we're going to the book of luke chapter 4 and we're going to begin at verse 18. jesus went to the synagogue as it was his custom and they delivered unto him the scroll of course he read from the book of isaias and in verse 18 he said the spirit of the lord is appointed upon me because you have anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to preach deliverance to the captives and of covering and recovering of sight to them that are blind to set at liberty them that are bruised to preach the acceptable year of the lord then if you go to the book of luke chapter 7 i want you to look at verse 22. in luke chapter 7 and verse 22 when jesus was approached by the disciples of john because at this time john was in prison herod placed him there and the disciples of john were beginning to doubt as to whether or not jesus was truly the messiah or should they be looking for another and they literally came at the request of john to inquire of jesus christ are you the one whom we are looking for are you are you the one whom we were looking for or should we be looking for another and jesus did not immediately respond to the inquiry he just allowed them to remain there for a season and behold his handiwork and then in verse 22 verse 22 he said go your way and tell john those things which you have seen and heard how that the blind see the lame walk the leopards are cleansed the death here the dead are raised and to the poor the gospel is preached do you notice in luke chapter 4 and verse 14 and in the book of luke chapter 7 and verse 22 in both accounts when jesus speaks of preaching the gospel he says he only preached the gospel to a particular class and he said the poor did you not notice that in your bibles am i making that up come on now it's in your bible in my bible i guarantee you i do not write these things i don't have that much patience are you with me right now he said in both occasions the spirit of the lord is upon me because you have anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor in luke 7 and verse 22 he said to the poor the gospel is preached now friends we all know that when jesus had the multitudes before them there were people from every class of life that were there in the multitudes but it's also clear that jesus said to the poor the gospel is preached so what did he mean by that here's what he meant the gospel is for everyone who's the gospel for but the gospel was designed to benefit only the poor did you hear what i just said the gospel is for everyone but it was designed to only be a benefit to them that are poor for the bible says in the book of matthew chapter 5 and verse 3 blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven gospel is for everyone but only the poor in spirit shall be benefited by the gospel and that's the reason why we're still in this world talking about the gospel you don't understand what i'm saying okay let's make it clear go with me to the book of revelation chapter three in revelation chapter three let's begin at verse 14. in revelation chapter three beginning at verse 14 we have a prophetic message that is given by the faithful and true witness the amen the beginning of the creation of god even jesus christ and this message is the to the church of the laodiceans father in heaven please be with my mind and my mouth i just feel a little bit sluggish but lord take full control that your name might be glorified send your spirit to help us we ask in jesus name amen in the book of revelation chapter 3 and verse 14 the message to the church of the laodiceans is given by the faithful and true witness even jesus christ himself and we know that the word laodicea the name laodicea means the judgment of the people or the people that are living during the time period of the investigative judgment brothers and sisters that is all of us every professor of christ falls under the banner of laodicea today and in a very marked sense it speaks concerning us this great advent movement are you following right now and he says concerning his last day church he says i know your works you're neither cold nor hot i wish that thou were cold or hot so then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot i will spew thee out of my mouth why because thou sayest i am rich and increased with goods and have needed nothing and no it's not that thou art wretched miserable poor blind and naked when jesus speaks i believe jesus speaks that means nothing to you what i just said huh when jesus speaks i believe it's god speaking and i don't believe that god speaks haphazardly when god makes a diagnosis he starts at what he starts at what is most important and then he moves progressively forward are you with me so far so when god spoke concerning our condition and the first thing he had to say about us is you think you're rich what do you think is our biggest problem we think we're rich we think we're rich and we don't even know that we're poor and that's a problem we think we're rich and we don't even know that we're poor and we've been given a gospel to give to the world that was designed to benefit the poor so we're trying to preach a gospel that we ourselves don't even realize that we have need of we think everybody else needs jesus except for us oh boy that guy over there he sure needs jesus she sure needs jesus donald trump oh lord we need to fast and pray he needs jesus yeah what about you donald trump is a narcissist as far as i see it you're probably a narcissist too you're trying to control your own world i thought god was supposed to be the god of your life i thought you were supposed to trust in the lord with all your heart and not lean upon your own understanding in all your ways i thought you were supposed to acknowledge him and allow him to direct your past who's the narcissist brothers and sisters we have a problem god has blessed us with the gospel that we cannot give effectively to the world because we have not we have yet to allow the gospel to impact our lives because we think that we're rich go with me to the book of proverbs proverbs chapter 28 i want you to look at verse 11 with me proverbs chapter 28 looking at verse 11. in proverbs the 28th chapter looking at verse 11 the bible tells us here the rich man is wise in his own conceit but the poor that hath understanding searches him out the rich man is wise in his own conceit that word conceit means his own personal estimate of himself the rich man is one that feels secure he has a very high estimate of his own intellect his own ability he thinks himself to be all together good doesn't need any assistance he's wise in his own conceit do you think that is the general condition of laodicea today that we're wise in our own conceit we have the bible we have the commandments and the testimony of jesus we understand the prophecies but do we have jesus do we have jesus matter of fact if you go over to the book of proverbs chapter 26 begin with me at verse 11 i find this one extremely interesting in proverbs 26 looking at verse 11 it says there as the dog returneth to his vomit so the fool returneth to his folly then it goes on to say in verse 12 sees thou man wise in his own conceit now we just learned who the man is that is why is in his own conceit didn't we that's the rich man am i correct it says seest thou the man wise in his own conceit there's more hope for a fool than of him that's a very solemn statement if the rich man is the man that is wise in his own conceit and the bible says you see that man over there that's wise in his own conceit there's more hope for the fools in this world than for that person right there so you mean to tell me when the bible tells us in psalm 14 and verse 1 that the fool says in his heart there is no god that person that currently does not acknowledge god is in a better condition than the majority of laodicea because remember we think we're rich how is that possible that the majority of the people that are right now outside of the church don't even acknowledge the existence of god that the majority of them are in a better condition than the majority of us that are right now within the precincts of laodicea how is that possible furthermore if you didn't forget in verse 11 it said that the fool that returns to his folly that's like the dog that returns to his vomit am i correct so the dog that returns to his vomit is in a better condition than the most the majority of laodicea are you seeing the point right now how is that possible one thing i like about my daughter what's that one thing i like about my daughter just to just erase that from the all together there's many things i love about my daughter she forces me to think about things very simply and when you look in the bible and you see that god gives you object lessons it's very it will behoove us to take some time to really consider that object lesson and in the most childlike fashion as possible because there's a lot of good spiritual nourishment to be gained doing such a thing for instance think would think like children with me for a second here um why would a dog vomit this is not a trick question i assure you why would a dog vomit because he's sick why would the dog be sick he he ate something that didn't agree with him why did the dog eat something that didn't agree with him because why because the dog was foolish i think that's a little too high for the dog why did the dog eat something that didn't agree with him he was hungry okay so let's start from right there so so one day there was a hungry dog and he walked around and his beastly appetite started grabbing at him and he said you know i'm hungry and i need to eat something are you following so far so the dog found something we won't address what it is he's found something and he ate it and for his season his beastly appetite was satisfied sound good so far but then as he went about his dog life his stomach started bothering him and then the dog started realizing the thing that he ate that he thought was good was not good and now the dog wants it out of him so then the dog come on now this is not her and then the dog does what vomits and his stomach feels better oh it feels better but then he continues his life as a dog and once again the beastly appetite comes and he looks left and he looks right and what do you think the dog finds ah he finds his vomit and what do you think the dog does oh he laps it right up brothers and sisters the bible says the fool is like that brothers and sisters the bible tells us hell and destruction are never full therefore the heart of man is never satisfied there is a void in the heart of every man that only god himself can feel but remember the fool says in his heart there is no god so the fool will always be trying to fill this god-shaped void with the things of this life they'll be looking around to satisfy the void in their hearts with adultery they'll be looking around to satisfy the void in their hearts with food and drink they'll be looking around to satisfy the void in their hearts with the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life the things in this world that seem as though they can quench the desires of the heart of men and for a season a man might partake or participate in some of these things and it can give them some sense of a key word here sense of well-being but after a season in time even the fool will begin to realize that relationship that money ill-gotten those drugs the media whatever it may be those things do not bring joy matter of fact they become the very bane of one existence one's existence so much so that now he wants to separate himself from that thing that he's become a slave to that's really destroying him that's literally crippling him physically and psychologically and so what does he do for a season he separates from that thing you know human willpower for a season can separate you from a lot of things once again the key word here is season for a seasonal you might separate from that relationship might separate from that vice for a season but then as hell and destruction are never full the heart of man is never satisfied what will the fool do he'll go right back to that sinful practice to try to find joy and the cycle continues and the interesting thing is the fool that does that the bible says is in a better condition than the laodicean do you know why it's very clear when you think about it because the fool at one point in time is conscious of the fact that change needs to come in their life they realize something is going on in their life that needs to change and they need to separate from that thing that is destroying them but the laodicean the rich man absolutely comfortable we don't acknowledge our sin we don't see our need of transformation we're comfortable lukewarm insensitive to our condition with to god we became sensitive to our condition so how can this change i want you to look with me at the book of luke chapter 18 luke chapter 18 luke chapter 18. in luke chapter 18 beginning at verse 18 jesus had an interview with a certain rich wrong rich young ruler do you all remember that in luke chapter 18 and verse 18 the bible says there was a certain ruler that came to jesus and he said to him good master what shall i do to inherit eternal life question do you think he was sincere in his quest for eternal life i think he was 100 sincere in another portion of the gospels we're told that he ran and he fell down at jesus feet and asked the question this man was sincere he said good master what shall i do to inherit eternal life i like the way that jesus responds he says why cost thou me good notice now there is none good but one that is god you know jesus was testing the temperature of this man's understanding of things he wanted to know did this certain wrong did this certain ruler understand that the one who whom he was communicating with at this time that jesus was not just a good master but he that he was actually god himself he wanted to see if this young ruler actually knew him are you following so far you want to know do you really do you know who you're talking to do you know because the character attribute of goodness can only be attributed to god himself but jesus didn't carry on that point too much longer he says thou knowest the commandments do not commit adultery do not kill do not steal do not bear false witness honor thy father and thy mother and the rich young ruler responds and says all these things have i kept from my youth up now i know you're familiar with this interaction but i want you to really consider this interaction this morning here this young man is coming to jesus asking him as to what he needs to do to obtain eternal life and jesus turns around and tells this jew to keep the commandments i specifically stated he told a jew to keep the ten commandments why did i state that he told the jew to keep the ten commandments what jew didn't know they were supposed to keep the ten commandments jews were taught to keep before they came out of their mother's womb they knew the ten commandments i mean by the age this young man was at he was supposed to know the whole torah he's saying jesus i've kept all these things what are you telling me i fully believe if jesus told him something new he would have jumped right on it that's one of the reasons we have so much false doctrine coming into the church today we're looking for something new but he told him he pointed him right back to the commandments he says you know the commandments don't kill don't commit adultery don't still honor your father he says i've done all these things to my youth up i know this already i'm asking you what to do to inherit eternal life and jesus looked at him and said yet one thing thou lackest go and sell all that thou has go and sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come follow me the bible tells us that when he heard this he was very he went away very sorrowful because he was very rich brothers and sisters jesus told him go keep the commandments don't commit adultery don't kill don't steal don't be a false witness honor thy father and thy mother and that was not a satisfactory response for this young man he really wanted to hear something new jesus never told him something new you know what jesus told him about he told him about his idol he told him about his coveted sin many times we come to meetings like this we go to church how many of us go to church week after week week after week don't you go to church because you want to partake of eternal life isn't that part of the reason why you're a part of no no when you open your bibles when you pray when you seek the lord in convocations isn't it because you're seeking after eternal life that's not the reason why it's not even a part of it no you could care less you could care less you have you don't want to be with the lord you're liars you know peter said it like this if in this life only we have hope in christ we are of all men most miserable i don't want to be miserable i want my help my hope to extend beyond this life amen so let's have a accurate faith we want eternal life right with god amen oh yeah now you can respond amen think about what i'm getting ready to share with you this young man if jesus told him something else i think he would have been happy if jesus told him to go do a thing he probably would have done it anything but give up his sin there are so many things that we're willing to do as the children of god and there are new doctrines sometimes that we're willing to embrace but when we come to the lord seeking seeking for eternal life in most of our cases the lord is not going to tell you something new he's just going to tell you about the truth that you have yet to do by faith he's going to tell us about our sin and when we hear about our sin we don't get excited about that if we heard interesting fanciful prophecies some of us get excited about that if we hear about what the pope is doing we get excited about that what's happening behind the scenes in u.s government we get excited about that but when we hear about our sins we're very sorrowful we don't want to hear that and the interesting thing is jesus was actually giving him the answer that he was looking for he wanted eternal life he said go and sell all that you have give up your idol and come and follow me if he was following jesus who would it be who would he have been following it's not a trick question say it again god if he was following jesus he would have been following god jesus inviting this young man to follow him was an invitation for this young man to have intimate communion with god do you remember when jesus first talked with this young man he said why call us thou me good notice now there's none good but one that is god he was actually asking do you really know who you're talking to you're asking for eternal life do you know who you're talking to you're actually talking to god he says you want eternal life come follow me come know me brothers and sisters john 17 and verse 3 and this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true god and jesus christ whom thou has sent he received the invitation the key was given to him the key was given to him as to how he could partake of eternal life come into intimate communion with god but the only way that intimacy can be established is to give up your sin brothers and sisters god wants intimacy with all of us the question is are you willing to give up the sin that is the obstruction between you and him what is the obstacle one thing thou lackest what is it for you what is the thing that you're lacking what is the obstruction between you and jesus what is keeping you from knowing him intimately that you might partake of eternal life what is it only you know and if you don't know like job you can pray in job 34 and verse 32 that which i know thy that which i know not teach thou me and if i've done iniquity i will do it no more if you don't know ask god to show you and he'll show it to you why because he wants to save you and when this young man went away sorrowful the bible tells us that as jesus saw this he said how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of god for it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven i guess that's why the bible tells us in the book of peter in the book of peter in particular first peter chapter 4 and verse 17 for the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of god and if it first begin at us what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of god for if the righteous scarcely be saved we're insha'allah ungodly and the sinner appear how hardly shall i live the sea and enter into the kingdom of heaven it's easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye then for rich lilo to see it to enter into the kingdom of heaven the righteous shall scarcely be saved why because we have some idols that we love to hold on to one thing we lack it's surrender total surrender and funny enough and it's really not funny when jesus made that statement about how hardly it would be for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven the bible says that the disciples looked at jesus and said what who then shall enter into the king who then shall be saved can you imagine as poor as i am if if i heard jesus say it was it would be hardly that rich people would enter into the kingdom of heaven i would be on the sidelines saying lord i have a shot i've got a shot but they didn't say that were the disciples rich people brothers and sisters they let alone had the clothes on their backs the majority of the people that were in the multitude were of the poor scale the people were there saying who then can be saved do you want to know why they might not have had the world but in their hearts they wanted it that's our problem we're carrying the world around in our hearts can you imagine some people are going to die holding on to their houses and lands some people are going to die because they don't want to give up their dreams of houses and lands some people are going to die because they don't want to let go of their riches some people are going to die because they don't want to give up their dream their ambition of being rich don't even have the tangible reality of the thing you're going to die with a dream who then can be saved the poor in spirit can be saved i want to close with this this morning go with me to the book of luke luke chapter 1 and verse 53 in luke chapter 1 and verse 53 the bible simply states this it says he have filled the hungry with good things and the rich he have sent empty away if i could start this camp with one thought this is the thought that i want to start the camp with how do you want to leave this camp do you want to leave this camp with nothing you want to leave it with nothing you want to leave with some new gossip that you learned as you were sitting down having potluck some mosquito bites because you will get some of those i assure you of that what do you want to leave this camp with do you want to leave this camp with something god says the hungry he will feel but if you're if you're rich if you don't realize your need you're going to leave this place empty with nothing why spend four days in the wilderness and leave with nothing god has something for us brothers and sisters listen god has something for us and the only way we will receive the gift is if we come with the right spirit so this is my challenge to you at the beginning of this camp let us pray and ask god to give us poorness of spirit so that even at the even at the smallest mention of the word of god we'll be able to receive that creative power that is contained within the word of god do you understand what i just said there is creative power in the word of god the word of god is bread for the hungry water for the thirsty every thus say of the lord contains power and transformation in it but it's only for the poor in spirit so who here will who here with me will pray and say lord give us poorness of spirit so that as we leave this place we'll be changed let's pray father in heaven lord your word your word is a lamp and to our feet it's a light unto our past i pray that your word like a candle will be applied to each one of our hearts that we might see our great need of the savior father we have heard messages on top of messages on top of messages some of us have been blessed to be a part of this great advent movement for all of our lives we have heard the truth spoken in many different ways but the time has come for us to know thee who is the truth for to know you is eternal life and so my humble prayer this morning is that you would grant us all poorness of spirit a realization of our weakness and our neediness and ears that are open and hearts that are willing to be reproved and to be instructed in the way of life and lord as we come before you with broken and contrite hearts fill us strengthen us empower us fashion us anew in your image and in your likeness so that we might leave this place more perfectly reflecting jesus christ this is our prayer for we ask it in the name of our savior christ the righteous amen you

Channel: Caribou Seventh-day Adventist Fellowship

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Keywords: Revelation, Revelation16:13, Dragon, Beast, False Prophet, Devil, Rome, Pharaoh, Gospel, Seventh-day Adventist, other churches, Luke 4:18, Luke 7:22, Revelation 3:14, conceit, poor, rich young ruler, keep commandments, lack, poor in spirit, idol, hearts, world, Luke 1:53, camp meeting, salvation, word of God

Id: rLj9iDKHjTY

Length: 59min 33sec (3573 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 19 2020