The Leaning Church | John Lomacang

[Music] free angels broadcasting network is pleased to bring you something better a faith-inspiring picture of a loving god from the book of hebrews welcome to 3abn's virtual homecoming camp meeting hello i'm shelly quinn and we welcome you to 3abn homecoming fall camp meeting 2021. we so wish you could be here we really miss our live audience this is a virtual event naturally because of the pandemic but we welcome you it's still going to be a wonderful time james rafferty kicked us off last night was such a superb message and the speaker of this hour is my pastor pastor john lo mccain he's the pastor of the thompsonville seventh-day adventist church and john is going to speak to us about the leaning church but before he does john is also a dear friend and a minister of music and he's going to sing turn your eyes upon jesus [Music] oh so are you weary and troubled no light in the darkness you see there's light for look at the savior and there's life more abundant and free [Music] turn your eyes upon jesus look for in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dead in the light of his glory and grace his word will not fail you for his promised believe it and all will be well then go to a [Music] with his perfect salvation to tell [Music] turn your eyes upon jesus look for in his wonderful faith [Music] strangely dead in the light of his glory and grace [Music] in the light of god's glory [Music] and grace in the light of his glory [Music] let us pray a gracious kind father in heaven your grace is far more amazing than we can ever anticipate and your word continues to shine amidst the dark world and we find that when we turn our eyes upon jesus when we when we look away from what's around us and look to who stands before us we find the glory and grace that each one of us is in need of and so lord i pray even now that as this message is imparted about the leaning church that you will direct our eyes to see christ as the one that stands strong stands firm stands unmoved in a shaken world and that we can make a decision that we too by his grace can stand with him now take this message and use it for your glory and honor and speak to me and through me that your name alone will receive the praise in jesus name i pray amen i want to begin with a scripture in first corinthians chapter 10 if you have your bibles you can turn there with me first corinthians chapter 10 it is a small but potent verse in the writings of the apostle paul to the corinthians which now in fact is conveyed to us in this modern age of challenges he says to us today therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls my wife and i have these conversations about how god brings messages to me and this is one of those of the many of the many that as i was driving the lord brought this to my mind the title the leaning church and then he directed me to a story that many of you may have been familiar with that i'm going to use today to illustrate the powerful revelation that god has entrusted to me to communicate to you and so pause with me as we look at one of the most unintentionally famous buildings in the world unintentionally famous the bell tower of pisa when the lord brought that picture to my mind i couldn't help but to start doing my homework and i discovered that the bell tower in pisa in italy stands 183 feet tall it is now recognized however for reasons unintended by the architect and the builders i want to say that one more time so you can grab it grab the reins of that statement this this tower is now recognized for reasons unintended by the builders and the architect what began being built in 1173 and finished in 1399 was a tower made to accompany the grand cathedral of the italian city of pisa what amazed me is most of us don't talk about the grand cathedral in the italian city of pisa which is right next to the bell tower that we all know so well there's something about the bell tower that robbed that grand cathedral of the glory and the admiration and the recognition that it needed and i'll talk about that in a moment but i discovered that during the construction of this tower this bell tower in the 12th century the tower began to lean due to the soft ground which could not adequately support its weight but instead of halting the project to correct the issue construction continued the weak foundation continued to worsen giving birth to the now famous name the leaning tower of pisa you see the correctable issues confronting the builders were ignored and in hindsight the weakened foundation could have been addressed and remedied almost 850 years ago and when i thought about that three questions poured into my mind that i had to find the answers for one was why did the builders refuse to correct the leaning tower of pisa when they discovered the soft foundation beneath it why didn't they strengthen the foundation beneath this now leaning tower but the most important question what prompted them to allow the tower to continue leaning and what the lord revealed to me is an amazing insight you see i also discovered that the foundation and first floor of the tower were finished in the year 1174. the second floor was built four years later in 1178. they didn't have the modern machinery that we have today so they had to hew the marble stones out of the rock by handheld tools they didn't have compressors and they didn't have anything that was dynamically powered so they had to use manpower thus the delay to begin to build the second floor they began in 1178. when they began building the second floor the tower began to sink and after construction had progressed they realized that as they added the second floor they saw the frailty of the foundation then something happened a war broke out in italy and for the next 100 years they halted the building of the leaning tower but something happened during that hundred years and this gave me an insight the spiritual insight as to what happens when we don't immediately remedy the things immediately remedy the things in our lives that the lord reveals is soft and is not strong and firm enough for you see the delay gave time to allow the underlying soil to begin to settle and to begin to get firm in december 1233 construction remained and they would build for the next 51 years and by the year 1284 construction halted again when the positions were defeated in battle the battle had not been completed but because the battle had not been finished they were defeated bringing the construction to a halt temporarily after returning the seven floors were completed by the year 1319. for today if you go to the city of pc you see a tower with seven floors and on the very top like a wedding cake the floor is a little smaller which is the bell tower that houses seven bells thereby calling it the bell tower of pisa by 1655 the largest of the seven bells were installed in the tower but due to the worsening conditions of the lien numerous attempts were made but look how long numerous attempts were made way down the road to try to correct it let's go fast forward to the year 1964. in february 1964 the italian government requested financial aid to keep the tower from falling but now think about that from 1170 to 1964 the question that came to my mind almost like a flood was what took so long and by 1990 the tower of pisa was leaning at a dangerous lean of five and a half degrees which forced construction crews to stabilize the foundation that reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees and once again the question came to my mind why didn't the architects and the construction team straighten the tower why did they not return it to what the original architects and builders intended a straight tower straight up and down not leaning why did they leave the tower leaning and i want to tell you what the lord pointed to my mind was fascinating it showed that when god wants to reveal and when god wants to give a picture clarity he begins to pour into our minds things that human eyes will often ignore and often miss the answer the lord revealed to me about the tower of pisa describes the spiritual climate of the church of the last days and this is powerful and listen carefully the tower was admired for what it had become rather than what the original architect had intended it to be you see that the tower now leaning was more admired than all the straight buildings in the city of pisa it's leaning gave it a special look and people were now attracted the leaning condition gave it preference over the straight buildings around it people admired the tower not for what the architects intended but for what the building had become and friends i had seen a parallel that the lord had given to me what is happening to the church today is the modern church the last day church is being admired for what it has become naturally rather than what the original architect jesus intended for it to be recognized for the church today is recognized for entertainment for music for lights camera action the church today is recognized for doctrinal that's not doctrinal integrity the church is recognized today for tradition and things that fit man preference but not for what god intended it to be how amazing the parallel that jesus can bring out in the basic things of life things that we often overlook and when i look at the church today when i travel around the world and i begin to see the challenges not only facing the seventh day adventist church but i've spoken to christians in many denominations and you will be surprised how many people say that's not what my church was intended to be by god just recently i heard a conversation i had a conversation with a young man for more than three hours and he's a baptist young man and he said to me the bible doesn't support eternally burning hell and as a baptist i've been trying to straighten out my baptist brother and saying that's not in scripture another leaning belief that took a long time to solidify in the minds of those who embrace it as though the original architect jesus intended for the church to be built on that but i must say when jesus established his church he made sure that the foundation was sufficient because he built the church on himself and the apostle paul in first corinthians 3 and verse 11 says for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid which is jesus christ praise god for that the church today although frail and enfeebled and and when beaten and torn by the trials and the challenges of life not only what it has gone through but what it's still going through today the political challenges the financial challenges the social challenges the family challenges the church is being challenged by so many things that god never intended but when it was built it was built on the foundation of jesus christ and that is why jesus looking at the disciples in his day he said to them upon this rock i build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it when i think about that friends when i think about that that statement that jesus made what he in essence is saying is the gates of hell have more to be concerned about than the church because the church is pushing against the powers of darkness and the powers of darkness cannot resist the forward motion of the christian church the darkness of hell cannot resist the brightness of god's truth but i must say god never intended the church to be built on what is being built on today and it saddens my heart as a pastor to hear members and hear people that speak more about politics than about jesus god never intended the church to be built on the political agenda of the many or the few as a matter of fact he never intended the church to be built on the rhetoric of man at all that's why jesus once again communicated a picture to us that i encourage you to embrace put this picture above your bed in your bathroom in your mantle put it on the dashboard of your car this mental picture that jesus draws for us today in matthew 7 verse 24 and 25 he says therefore whoever hears these things of mine and does them i will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it did not fall why for it was founded on the rock but we noticed the church that is founded on the rock the problem is not the rock christ jesus the problem is those that are standing on him and i noticed that this was not immediate because from the days of christ to the present the foundation of the christian church has gone through several tests and trials let's begin with the church of ephesus in revelation 2 and verse 1 the church of ephesus this brand new baby from the hand of god unfolding from the heart of god the lord looked at that victorious church symbolized by the white horse in revelation in the four horses but these are the words he said about that church revelation two and verse one to the angel of the church of ephesus right these things he says who holds the seven stars in his right hand who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks you see when the church of ephesus was established that first church faced the burgeoning trials of growth challenged by the power of the roman empire but they endured why because that baby church was established on the rock and the lord looking at that church understanding what they're facing he says in revelation two verse two and three i know your works your labor and your patience and that you cannot bear those who are evil if they were evil back then how much more is evil advance today because the bible says evil men will wax worse and worse he continues in verse 2 you cannot bear those who are evil and you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars and you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my name's sake and have not become weary i want to tell you in an age where the world is challenging the church in an age where we are being battered by issues from the left and the right from up and down family issues and social issues and political issues and issues of marriage and issues of children in an age where we are challenged the lord is saying endure persevere have patience labor in my name and do not become weary and that infant church stood firm against the monolith of pagan rome some endured but some wavered we find revelation two verse four and five he said to that young church nevertheless i have something against you that you have left your first love remember therefore from when you have fallen repent and do the first work or else i will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent oh i wish today more pastors would preach repentance and not success not ships coming in and bank accounts burgeoning not your job your favorite job is coming your way but if they would preach repentance people will become content with the little that they have as the bible says godliness with contentment is great gain we have a philosophy and a teaching today that's coming from the pulpits of the world people are looking for diamonds and jewels and cars and planes and houses they're looking for possessions that they can hold on to rather than asking for the holy spirit to possess them how different the church has become leaning in a way that the architect jesus christ has never intended for it to lean he told them to repent and i say to you today repentance has always been extended by jesus what was true to the church of ephesus is still true god accepts the heart of true repentance but ephesus began the journey and then we go to smyrna the church of smyrna revelation 2 and verse 9. he said to this church i know your works tribulation and poverty but you are rich and i know the blasphemy of those who say they are jews and are not but are a synagogue of satan when the church began to grow one of the greatest battles they had was against the jewish church established they buffeted the growing church they buffeted the apostles they could they couldn't stand by and see the church advance and the lord knew that as the apostles died off the church would face fierce persecution but the persecution that the church faced was not a shock to jesus for in john 16 verse 1 to 3 he said this to the fledgling christian church these things i have spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble get it falling over they will put you out of the synagogues yes he said the time will come when whoever kills you will think that he offers god's service distorted christianity that's why today you can see people attacking the capital saying they're christians naming the name of god and fighting willing to beat each other up in the name of god how dare they take god's name and connect it to their nefarious behavior that's not the spirit of christ and i will never support that kind of behavior on the left or on the right to be candid jesus said these things they will do to you because they have not known the father nor me today we want politicians to be christians the lord never said that politicians would be christians he said give to caesar what's his but give to god what's his and the church ought to wake up and stop trying to stand behind a man when it's called to stand behind christ but looking at that fledgling church jesus revealed their fate he said it's going to get bad but hold on revelation 2 and verse 10 he said do not fear any of those things do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer indeed the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation 10 days from 303 to 313 a.d under roman emperor diocletian rome made a valiant attempt to wipe out the church but because they were firmly standing on the rock christ jesus they were not successful he said to them be faithful unto death and i will give you a crown of life you see friends when i look at this i wonder how different the church is today we can't handle suffering so many people are turned off by little things i'm offended well if you were living in those days offense would be nothing we're talking about persecution being beheaded torn apart by lions put in dungeons offended that's why the lord allows suffering there is something about suffering that brings out a determination that evades us in times of ease what happens when suffering comes the bible becomes more real jesus becomes a friend that sticks closer than a brother like the three hebrews we find deliverance in the fire but today christians say lord save me from the fire what if god intended for you to go through the refining fires of your life like the hebrews could somebody testify about god's goodness in a fire whatever happened to those days god has forsaken me he has not you are forsaken him and like daniel we discover comfort in the lion's den how would you like to spend a night in the motel where it's not on a comfortable bed not on a posturepedic mattress but you're leaning on the belly of a ferocious lying and you can only do that by god's grace i'm so thankful today that god can spend the night with me in a den of lions that's god but the church is soft today we discover comfort in the lion's den we find joy that sustains us in the midst of trial and like paul and silas we can sing behind the prison bars of despair what has happened to the church it's leaning so far that it has forgotten that jesus has declared unto him that is able to keep you from falling but psalmist the david david the psalmist reminds us in psalm 34 15 when we are going through difficulty and despair when we are facing trials he says the eyes of the lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cries you see we often cry to one another and if somebody cries to you pray for them do not allow their failures and their weaknesses to become the top newspaper article in your life with your friends do not broadcast the weaknesses of your brothers and sisters for god has given you grace that you may grow through the times of your weakness whatever happened to bearing one another's one another's burdens and fulfilling the law of christ the eyes of the lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cries that's why i asked the question how will you know about the power of god to deliver unless you need the power of god to deliver and david who knows well what deliverance is all about he says in psalm 34 17 the righteous cry out and the lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles that passage is important to me because if that were not the case i wouldn't be here today many of you wouldn't be where you are you wouldn't be standing firmly where you are if god did not hear your cries and deliver you out of listen to this all of your troubles there's nothing you can face that is too difficult for god to deliver psalm 34 verse 19 many are the afflictions of the righteous but the lord delivers him out of them all but the problem today with the christian church is people want easy religion they can't handle the simplest of offenses when something or somebody rubs them wrong they shrink or they're ready to fight that's what's happening in our nation christians fighting christians over what over what a vaccine and a mask go back to the days of real persecution when things were really an issue if you think that wearing a mask as a trial asked the hebrews how the furnace felt and some of us have never been in the furnace because we are not strong enough to even go that far the lord will never put some of us in a furnace because we'll deny our faith because we have become soft-bed christians leaning so far that we have forgotten that we should be leaning on christ in testimonies for the church volume six page four or eight the servant of the lord ellen white makes it clear about what the church is going to face she says the signs thickening around us telling of the near approach of the son of god are attributed to anything other than the true cause men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they shall not blow until the servants of god are sealed but when god shall bid his angels loose the winds there shall be such a season or scene of strife as no pen can picture if you don't strengthen your foundation today if you're comfortable leaning if you're comfortable just leaning if all you want to do as a christian is lean on the foolishness of this life the uncertainty the changing climate a horizon that has nothing of assurance in it if you are content to lean in this kind of environment you won't be able to stand when strife that coming when the strife that is coming is something that our minds could never even imagine today friends truth-based christianity has been avoided like a plague the apostle paul predicted that the time would come when christians will be identified by a form of godliness but they'll be denying the power thereof and we are living in that time the church today so many christians are content to feel good when the music sounds good but my favorite preacher one of my favorite preachers pastor c.d brooks said it is not how high you jump when you sing but it's how straight you walk when you hit the ground what's happened to the church today the church we fight each other we have forgotten that sickness and death and suffering doesn't come from a god that snatches children away god is not an assassin he does not take your mother or your father he did not plan the death of your child in that car accident he did not go to the hospital and say your son would not make it through this covert environment an enemy has done that give the blame to whom the blame is due the devil who is a liar and a murderer from the very beginning stop blaming god and saying that god took god does not take he takes the bad things and give the good things every good and every perfect gift comes from god he said i've come back you might have life and have it more abundantly but he talks about the thief who comes to steal to kill and destroy what has happened to the church it is leaning this is the leaning generation the generation where christians are leaning on preferences and isaiah the prophet describes that the church would come to this isaiah 4 and verse 1. notice what he says he says in that day seven women shall take hold of one man seven churches seven conditions what are christians today saying we will eat our own bread this is our own doctrines we will wear our own apparel this is what my righteousness is comfortable with only let us be called by your name to take away our approach that's what jesus meant when he said thou shall not take the name of the lord thy god in vain to name the name of god means to live the life that christ intended for us to live don't be content with just the name and be discontent with the life when you think about it what good is your preference if you are not determined to stand on god's requirements what good is your preference the church has become like the cane of the days of abel cain killed his brother abel why because cain gave god what he wanted to give him when abel gave god what he required today christians give jesus what they want to and not what he requires why because they are leaning in the wrong direction but make no mistake about it jesus is not bought by your leaning preferences his word is sure john 4 verse 23 he says but the hour is coming and now is when the true worshiper will worship the father in spirit and in truth why for the father is seeking such to worship him verse 24 god is spirit and those who worship him notice not should or might think about it must worship in spirit and in truth it's amazing more the the more arguments i've ever had the most arguments i've ever had are not with people that are drinking and smoking and dancing and partying i've had more arguments with pastors and christians about the truth of god's word because they are content to lean on their preferences jesus is not in the business of trading his word for a well-written song because when he faced temptation in the garden in the wilderness he did not say to the devil it is sung he said it is written but the church has been seduced today leaning on a song rather than leaning on the undefeated word of god jesus didn't sing a lullaby to satan in the wilderness of temptation he said it is written he said it is written he said it is written and today if you don't stand on it as written you can sing your way into hell it's not going to change the devil's attitude about his hold on your life the lord is saying to the church today stop leaning on emotion stop leaning on lights that make you feel good stop leaning on an atmosphere that is designed to seduce you to ignore requirements in place of preference and i'm speaking firmly today because we're living in a very crisis-centered environment this is the generation leaning on sermons that lean they like leaning sermons because just like the tower of pisa the leaning sermons are more attractive than the straight testimony of thus saith the lord is not desired anymore instead of doing what god says many christians contend to maintain their leaning beliefs their leaning positions i know what the bible says but that's the word that will get you leaning until one day you fall over this is the generation leaning on tradition and not on truth this generation prefers leaning on feeling and not on christ's word they'd like to lean on religion and not on the short foundation of the unwavering promises of god this is the hour where people are leaning on their own understanding some christians said to me i didn't think that god would expose me to that you know why because you're not god his ways are higher than your ways his thoughts are higher than your thoughts and like a person that's washing clothes the lord knows how long you need to be agitated to get the dirt out of your life because his number one commitment is to get us into the kingdom he knows that we cannot get into the kingdom the way we are we will only get into the kingdom when as the bible says we shall be like him for one day we shall see him as he is he's not done yet praise god for that so when god chastens us and tries us he's saying i cannot take you in that way i got to clean you up get the garbage out of your life i don't want leaning christians in a in a kingdom that is standing strong and firm we're not going to walk through the gate tilting we're going to walk through the gates on the firm righteousness of jesus paul the apostle says don't get confused by how things are going to work out keep your eyes fixed on jesus the only one that can work it out when you can't make heads or tails out of your trials remember this promise of the word of god romans 8 28 and we know that all things how many things all things work together for good to those who love god to those who are the called according to his purpose you see if there's no purpose in your life things may not work out if you choose to try it your way other than god's way it may not work out because the promise is not made to those who don't do it god's way the promise is not made to those who are according to their purpose it is those according to his purpose what's your purpose today is your purpose just to buy a new house buy a new car or is your purpose to embrace eternity what's your purpose today do you want a great job with six figures you want a beautiful wife or a handsome husband what's your purpose today if your purpose is to serve god all things will work together for good you see friends the worries and anxieties that are causing christians to lean is occurring by putting weight on issues that have nothing to do with eternity this society is busy leaning on on the shoulders of men that make promises that they cannot keep and they are not leaning on the promises of god that's why jesus once again hear the words of jesus he says to them in luke 6 and verse 46 why do you call me lord lord and do not do the things which i say i was talking to a christian not too long ago and i was showing him the word of god and i said that brother bro you are doing some serious acrobats to try to get around what god's word clearly says we think that we should file down god's word to fit our lives when god wants to file down our lives to fit his words you see like the leaning tower of pisa false doctrines have taken years to solidify like the hundred years when there was no work done on the leaning tower piece when they went back the foundation was solid but let me make a point errors taught for long may be solid because it's solid in your mind but what is true about the leaning tower is also true about false doctrines it may be solid but it cannot support the word of god it cannot be supported by the word of god you know the tower couldn't stand because the foundation was solid but it was shallow shallow religion shallow doctrines with no foundation in god's word cannot stand there's something else i learned about this tower that i want to share with you now i left parts of the story for later because it's very instrumental very significant in 1998 something happened architects learned that if they don't do something now the tower is going to fall so in 1998 the architects in the city of pisa they added lead counterweights led if you took if you look at the internet you find on one side of the building there are about 200 lead weights large massive pieces of pieces of lead weight they put it on the opposite side of the building they were added to the opposite side of the leaning tower of pisa to prevent the weight on the front side from causing the building to topple on itself because they determined that even though the foundation had solidified it was too shallow it was not deep enough to guarantee the survival of the bell tower today friends i'm going to come home to you today the greatest need of the last day christian is counterweights oh praise god he has counterweights the towers still standing today because of the counterweights they realize left to itself it will fall left to yourself you will fall today god is saying you need counterweights because you haven't seen the best that satan has to unfurl before you you haven't seen satan's big guns we need counterweights because without counterweights in our lives our lives cannot stand without counterweights in our lives we will eventually fall why because we are no match for the forces of darkness that come against us so i'm going to bring five points home today just before i close and i want to lean into them i want to lean into them but the question to you what are the counterweights that will guarantee that as a christian you will survive allow me to introduce counterweight number one prayer the apostle paul a very short verse but very relevant for the christian today first thessalonians 5 and verse 17 he says these words pray without ceasing i'll say it again pray without ceasing why would he say that because he knows that in these days if we are not in an attitude of prayer for those of you that think you need to kneel all the time then you can't pray when you're driving or you can't pray when you're in the checkout line in the food store or you can't pray when the salesperson is trying to seduce you into buying something you can't afford the bible says pray without ceasing we must always be in an attitude of prayer review in herald june 15 1886 paragraph seven alan white describes how important prayer is she says we need a close connection with god we are not safe a moment unless guided and controlled by the holy spirit the souls should be often uplifted to god in prayer even while we are engaged in our business vocation is prayer is something important to you or is it just something you do before you eat or before you go to bed or before you walk out the house oh daniel prayed three times a day i heard a story about a person that was on the plane praying and the pastor tournament said are you a christian he says no i'm not a christian i'm an atheist he said we pray five times a day against christian pastors how's your prayer life going to sustain how are you going to make it if there are forces praying against you how will you make it without prayer in your life in the book the faith i live by page 3 18 in paragraph 3 we are told once again by god's servant the people of god must be prepared to withstand the wily foe it is this resistance that satan dreads when you don't fight against falling over he has no concern but when you begin to make decisions about i'm not going to fall i'm going to stand firm on christ all of a sudden he's concerned she goes on to say he knows better than we do the limit of his power and how easily he can be overcome if we resist and face him and listen to how we can do it through divine strength the weakest saint is more than a match for him and all his angels and if brought to the test he the weakest saint would be able to prove his superior power when you look at the rest of the quotation what is she talking about when a christian prays we have power that we do not naturally possess but how many of you call on jesus in your time of difficulty or do you find a corner somewhere and roll up like a roly-poly in in a pile of your self-aggrandizement trying to find answers in your own empty life we are being told to pray pray without ceasing but the second thing we must do is bible study so many christians leave the bible for when they go to church or when they pick up their sabbath school lesson or their sunday school lesson whatever the case may be in your own practicing life but the bible is the sword that satan fears that's why jesus said it's a two-edged sword that's why jesus in his moments of temptation and trial quoted it if jesus quoted the word to defeat the devil how much more do we need to quote the word to withstand the forces of darkness the apostle paul in second timothy 2 and verse 15 what does he say to us about bible study today he says study to show thyselves and prove unto god a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth do you even know the word of truth that you can rightly divide it are you still saying i know it's in the bible somewhere you won't make it unless you stop making decisions about storing the word of god in your life david said it thy word have i hid in my heart that i might not sin against thee the day is coming friends that there's going to be a famine in the land of famine in the land not for bread and water but for the hearing of the word of god for those of you that think church is something that's optional you're going to stand around one day and try to break into the churches when sermons are no longer being preached when there's no more an opportunity to give your life to christ you can think of it as just something optional and you can keep partying and living the way you live but one day you're going to be looking for bread and water and none will be found you'll be saying preach a sermon to me but the pulpits will be empty stop leaning on the foolishness of a life that continues to lie to you study god's word we are told in the book a call to stand apart page 69 paragraph one once again the humble servant ellen white says this and i praise god that she stands in harmony with god's word she says there is nothing more calculated to energize the mind and strengthen the intellect than the study of the word of god no other book hear me no other book is so potent to elevate the thoughts to give vigor to the faculties as the broad and nobling truths of the bible and this is powerful if god's word was studied as it should be men would have a breath of mind a nobility of character and a stability of purpose that are rarely seen in these times the world needs an evidence of a real christian man a man that says no one means it a woman that says no and means it a man that can by god's grace resist the advancement of seduction whether by satan or by a woman or by money or by power or by politics the world needs evidence of a real christian man the world need evidence of christian young people too many people want to be christians one day a week that's why we argue over sabbath or sunday let me tell you something you can keep the sabbath and still be lost you can go to church every sunday and still be lost god's not looking for first day or seventh day christians he's looking for everyday christians yes the sabbath is god's day of worship yes the sabbath is ordained and blessed by god he didn't bless sunday but my point is clear until you become a christian every day one day is not going to save you give yourself to bible study give yourself to prayer but there's something else you have to do in these closing hours of life you got to trust god point number three you got to put your trust in god you got to put your trust in god so many people don't know what that means proverbs 3 verse 5 and 6 a wise man who understood what it meant to not trust god wrote these words trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways in all your ways financially socially in your marriage in your life and you're dealing with your children when you walk through the doors of the church and you look at other christians see them as another citizen of the kingdom not somebody that you can't get along with because you can't get along with them and they can't get along with you neither one of you is going to make the kingdom put your understanding aside trust in the lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and what's going to happen and he will direct your paths the leaning church needs some new direction in the book confrontation our redeemer page 49 and paragraph two our redeemer in the victory here gained has left man a perfect pattern showing him that his only safety is in a firm trust an unwavering confidence in god in all trials and perils jesus did it what's preventing you from doing that as i bring on my last two points i want you to hear that song in the background i'm having tim play learning to lean oh my brother and sister my pastor friends those of you called to great responsibility have you learned what it means do you have a child like faith do you know what it means when no one and nothing around you can bring you satisfaction do you know what it means when jesus sits with you on the couch of your despair and he says lean on me do you know what it means when you can lean on jesus you can do the fourth thing you can begin to share your faith the psalmist david said in psalm 107 and verse 2 let the redeemed of the lord say so whom the lord hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy i'm preaching this way because i've been redeemed from the hand of the enemy are all my battles over absolutely not but if i lean on jesus every day he'll fight my battles for me i can stand still and see the salvation of the lord like he told the israelites in the wilderness of fear when pharaoh and his metal armies were coming after them they were freed but the devil didn't forget let me tell you today you may say you're free from your past but the devil is pursuing your life and if you think that for a moment that he's going to leave you alone before you get into the promised land you are mistaken your faith has to stand up but if you've been redeemed you've got to say to somebody i've been redeemed the children saying i've been redeemed by the blood of the lamb and i'm saying to you you got to learn how to lean if you've been redeemed say so in counsels for the church page 356 in paragraph 6. we are told by the servant of the lord once again perplexities will increase and i can tell you they have but let us as believers in god encourage one another oh how beautiful it would be if when you walk through the church with burdens on your shoulder you can walk up to a brother or a sister or a group of christians and say i just want you to pray for me that's all i'm asking i don't need to tell you what i'm burdened by but i just want you to hold my arms i just want you to it took all i can find to get here today but instead the leaning christian says look at them they got what they deserve oh my brothers and sisters that should never come from the mouth of someone claiming to be connected with christ he saw people in the deepest of sin and he says go and sin no more neither do i condemn you what happened to the church what are you leaning on she says counsels for the church peace 356 paragraph six she says perplexities will increase but let us as believers in god encourage one another let us not lower the standard but keep it lifted high looking to him who is the author and finisher of our faith yes we've got to pray study our bibles trust in god we've got to share our faith but there's something else the last thing i want you to do today when i saw the picture of the leaning tower of pisa i sat back in amazement i said honey god just showed me a picture that i cannot be a leaning person i can't be a leaning pastor leaning in this direction today and leaning in that direction tomorrow i cannot be a person leaning when one person says this on the left and another person says this on the right i can't be leaning on what i hear on the internet i can't be leaning on what people are saying and arguing about vaccines and mass god have mercy on us i can't be leaning on the understanding of one physician over another there's only one master physician his name is jesus whatever happened to the church it's leaning it's leaning my last point take a firm stand take a firm stand who better to say that than the apostle peter take a firm stand this milky way of a of a disciple this this back boneless disciple of jesus had to go through the trials that the lord exposed him to the lord said you're too weak to preach on the day of pentecost i am going to let the devil sift you the devil desires to sift you as weak but i have prayed that your faith will not fail are you going through stuff because god is trying to teach you how to learn to lean he will not put you through what he doesn't see necessary he said to peter you're going to face some stuff i've got your name on the role to preach on the day of pentecost but you're not ready yet so i'm going to let the devil sift you and when you are converted then you'll be able to strengthen the brethren i'll tell you today a leaning christian is no value in the kingdom or the work of god but i want to say this but god loves leaning christians he doesn't love their lean he wants to tell them and teach them and show them and guide them on how they can stand strong in christ and who better to tell us that than the apostle peter second peter 1 and verse 10 peter gives a list of things that he learned to do and he said wherefore the rather brethren he said brethren a converted man saying brethren he's talking to the people brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure and then this converted fisherman who no longer curses who no longer has a desire to deny jesus this converted fisherman who knows what it's like for the lord to say do you love me do you really love me oh i've been saying that the christians if you love the lord he doesn't want lip service if you love him he says keep his commandments pastor if you love him feed his sheep god does not get persuaded by lip service no matter what your position is he said make your calling and election sure and peter ends with these words in second peter 1 verse 10 for if you do these things listen you shall never fall [Music] now let me give you the last part of the story of the leaning tower pizza in may 2008 engineers announced that the tower of pisa had far had finally been stabilized they announced to the city fathers in pisa italy they said it has stopped moving for the first time in history they stated that it would remain stable for the next 200 years wow when i heard that i said father that's just too much for me can it be said about me that i'm no longer leaning and for the next 200 years my life will be stable in christ i want that to be said about me that i'm finally at the place where heaven can announce john has stopped moving for the first time in history he'll be stable for the rest of his life peter knows what that's like david knows what that's like solomon knows what that's like men who have failed finally found a way to lean on jesus in that short little quotation in allen white's writings and selected messages book 2 page 380 she says the church may appear as about to fall but it does not you know why it doesn't fall because it's leaning on the everlasting arms it's leaning on jesus the church will not fall you know why because they're leaning on the promises of god they're leaning on the truth of god's word and so the question is not what are you leaning on the question is more specifically who are you leaning on it's not too late to lean on jesus for i end with the scripture that i began with the apostle paul says in first corinthians 10 and verse 12 therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall my prayer for you my brother and sister is that you learn what it means to lean on jesus and you'll no longer be a part of the leaning church god bless you [Music] you

Channel: Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN)

Views: 18,487

Rating: 4.8383837 out of 5

Keywords: John Lomacang, The last days, end times, Apostasy, leaning Christians, weak Christianity, 3ABN Virtual Homecoming Camp Meeting 2021

Id: ExtmRlTufzk

Length: 58min 0sec (3480 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 24 2021