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Sabbath, September 11, 2004 Pastor Tom Hughes
Newark Seventh-Day Adventist Church

“WHY CRAWL WHEN YOU CAN FLY!”

 

Our Father in Heaven, we ask that You would be with us as we open Your word. We thank you for the privilege of being here today. We’re glad that this is the Sabbath, the day that the Lord has made. We’ve got all afternoon to praise You and worship You, and lift our hearts up to You, Lord. Bless us now as we read Your word. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

Romans 12:1-2…

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

In Romans 12:1-2, you have that amazing word there: “metamorphosis” in the Greek.

In the original Bible languages, it took over 11,000 words. In the King James, you only have 6,500. If you only use the King James, you’re certainly going to miss a lot, aren’t you. I kind of like Ralph’s Bible I saw this morning. It was well worn, but it’s called the Adventurer Bible. That kind of fit, didn’t it.

Some of the more modern versions do try to get more of the original meaning. So I like a version called the Parallel Bible, where they have four different versions and you can read them all together. It’s really neat, ‘cause you do tend to miss a lot if you just use one unless you can read the original Greek. I have a little advantage there. I don’t read it well though. But I do know the tenses and I know a few things so I can understand it.

When it says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God…”

The mercies of God are grace, forgiveness, God’s mercy. He’s not saying that you have to be perfect and do everything right apart from the grace of God. But he’s saying once you’ve been saved, once you’ve accepted Christ, once you’ve come to Jesus just as you are without one plea.

And, by the way, I want all the smokers, all the alcoholics, all the drug addicts, all the skirt-chasing philanderers to come to Jesus just as they are; “without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me.” I want ‘em all to come. I want ‘em to come to church! I want ‘em to be in our presence at prayer meeting. Because if you can’t come to Jesus with your problems, who can you go to? You don’t have to change first to become a Christian! The “caterpillar” crawls into church a caterpillar, but he leaves a butterfly! J

Sinners were comfortable in Jesus’ presence. A person who was doing something harmful to their body could walk up to Jesus and be comfortable in His presence. He didn’t embarrass them! He didn’t try to humiliate them! He didn’t make them feel like they were second-class citizens. They loved being around Jesus.

Now you show me a judgmental person who stands there and tells you all your problems and sins every time they talk to you— I’ve seen some parents like that and I’ve seen some wives like that. Their children or their husband isn’t in the church so they have to tell the preacher, “Oh, well, Brother, my husband, he’s terrible. He cusses, he smokes; you don’t want to be around him.” And I’ve seen them do it right in front of the person! “Oh, well, that’s my son…he, you know, he runs around, he does this, he does that.” Jesus never ever, ever, ever humiliated anyone like that, and neither should we. Neither should we!

Some of you have been victimized by people who are judgmental—who say things to you. I love vegetarians but I don’t like judgmental vegetarians (!). I had a vegetarian who helped me to see the importance of eating as little of the carnivorous stuff as possible but she was very loving and very kind, and never told me I was wrong to do this or that. She just showed me the better way (!) by her example.

Whether it’s any of these worldly things, we don’t need to be telling people their faults. Do we? Man, is there anything more disgusting than a self-righteous Pharisee standing there lecturing you about your problems (?); as if you didn’t already know that it was wrong.

“…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

It’s right to take your body and give it to God the best it can be. You need to eat the best you can eat; you need to abstain from things that are going to destroy your body. Now, I hate to say this but 50,000 brain cells…if you take a drink, you destroy 50,000 brain cells. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to lose any more. Okay? I’ve drank, I never smoked, but I did drugs—I’ve done a lot of dumb stuff. But I can’t afford to lose any more brain cells. So, you know, you have to be careful. Even the Bible, when it talks about things like that, it talks about moderation in all things, but I’m proud that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church encourages its people to live clean and healthful lives. I’m proud of my church for that.

And it says,“…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…”— metamorphosis: be transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly—that’s what it means. Don’t let the world conform you.

Now, out here in Ohio, we have something, we have a lot of two things. Okay? We have a lot of clay and we have a lot of rocks (!). And my wife went to Lowe’s and they were getting rid of all their bushes that they didn’t want anymore and so they marked ‘em way down. And so she bought a bunch of ‘em. And so I had to dig holes and put ‘em in the ground (!) and she helped. Okay?

And we learned that Ohio has a lot of clay and a lot of rocks! And when you try to dig, you hit the rock. And you gotta dig the rock out (!) before you can dig the clay. And if you get the clay wet, then it molds to your feet and you and you end up walkin’ around with these great big, huge shoes that you didn’t originally have. Okay?

But the good thing about it is you can take that clay and you can just form it any way you want. And once you mold it into place, it’ll stay that way. That’s the way the world is with us—it creeps in on us and it starts to mold us like clay. It starts to push us a little here, and a little there. And, next thing you know, you start to compromise with the world.

“Well I wouldn’t do that!” “Well, maybe one time wouldn’t hurt.” And it starts to push and it starts to force you into its mold.

“Well, I guess I’m so busy today I can just skip reading my Bible this one day.”

Next thing you know, you’ve gone two, three weeks without reading your Bible.

Next thing you know, your feet are slowly turning back to the world.

Next thing you know, you’re starting to listen to music that isn’t the best.

Next thing you know, you’re watching programs you shouldn’t watch.

Next thing you know, you’re doin’ things you shouldn’t do.

And, pretty soon, the world will conform you and press you into its mold.

The Apostle Paul says, “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…” into the image of God.

The Apostle Paul implores, exhorts, and beseeches us to present our bodies alive in Jesus and dead to the world. Every day we need to go into the cocoon of God’s word and let the Holy Spirit turn us from a caterpillar into a butterfly, and it’s a daily transformation. Just like you can be turned from a caterpillar into a butterfly, if you neglect the cocoon of God’s word you will be turned back from a butterfly into a caterpillar. It’s a miraculous change, all right. It is only by the mercies of God, by His grace that this can be accomplished and it has to be done daily. Paul said, “I die…” how often? “…daily.”

Every day, the carnal nature has to be “nailed” to that Cross. Every day it has to be put to death. Some mornings, the way I talk to my wife she’ll say to me, “Have you had your worship yet today?” She can tell!J “I’m talkin’ to the caterpillar. I would much rather deal with the butterfly. Would you mind going and having your worship, please? (!)”

Lot’s of people want to hang around the Cross (let’s read Galatians 2:20). Lots of people love the Cross! They wear pretty little jewelry, and they hang a cross (around their necks). I’ve seen some of the most vulgar rap stars, who use the foulest language known to man, with a big, fat cross around their neck.
Galatians 2:20…

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Jesus loves you. He died on the Cross for you. And Paul said that every day he is crucified with Christ on that Cross. Your carnal nature, your self-centered nature, your egotistical nature has to be nailed to that Cross on a daily basis. That’s why it’s so important that every day we read the word.

A lot of people want to hang around the Cross—they want to wear it around their neck. If you really want to wear a symbol of what Christ went through around your neck, get yourself a little electric chair and wear that around your neck—because that’s really what the Cross was. It was the Romans’ “electric chair.” It’s not a pretty symbol; it’s a rough place where you have to die to live.

A lot of people want to hang around the Cross. A lot of people want to come to church but not many want to get on the Cross! Not many people want to have nails driven through their hands and feet. But daily we have to nail our carnal natures to the Cross by the study of God’s word and through prayer and the Apostle Paul says it’s “reasonable.” We should give God our best; not a body riddled by the bad habits of this sinful world, but a body ready to do God’s will. Paul is challenging us to live a life of dedication to God, not a life of self-centeredness. To remember our best friend, and to do only those things that please him.
The young people say it best: “What would Jesus do?” That should be our standard of conduct.

Would Jesus accept…

…my attitude?

…my offering?

…my body?

…my soul?

…my spirit?

Would Jesus accept my conduct?

Would He accept my attitude?

Would He approve of my motives?

Would Jesus find my intentions acceptable?

Would Jesus…

…go to the places I go?

…listen to the music I listen to?

…watch what I watch?

…love people the way I love people?

…treat people the way I treat people?

…listen to others the way I listen to others?

…treat my wife or husband the way I treat
her or him?

…treat my children the way I treat them?

Oh, it’s suddenly gotten very quiet in this church!

Would Jesus treat my wife or my children the way I treat them?

Would Jesus talk to them the way I talk to them?

Would Jesus be abusive to them—the way I’m abusive to them?
When you talk in a way that’s harsh or unkind, or critical, or judgmental, you are abusing your family. And there are Seventh-Day Adventists and others who abuse their family by talking in harsh and unkind ways. I’ve seen elders in the church do it, I’ve seen Sabbath School superintendents do it, and I’ve sure seen preachers do it and you’re lookin’ at one of ‘em (!). When talk to our families, our wives or our children in critical or mean or harsh ways, we are being abusive and it displeases God.

Remember, God says, “As much as you have done to the least of my children, you have done it unto me.” And in The Judgment, the way you treat your wife is the way you treat Jesus. And in The Judgment, if you treated her abusively—
pushed her, shoved her, talked mean to her or treated her in a nasty, mean way—you will meet that conduct in The Judgment and you will answer to God for that conduct.

If you abused your child or your children in any way, someday you will have to answer to God for that. The way you treat that child is the way you are treating Jesus Himself. He is in that child and when you abuse that child, you are abusing Christ.

What would Jesus do? Would He call me “holy and acceptable” if He examined my life?

Would I have to change my lifestyle?

What if Jesus made a surprise visit to me this week and informed me he would be staying with me for a month?

Would I have to throw out any magazines?
Would I have to throw our any tapes or CD’s?

Would I be embarrassed if he said, “Can I listen to that “Walkman” you’re listening to?

Would I have the same habits I have now?

How ‘bout in the afternoons, ladies? Would you be watchin’ The Young and the Lustful if Jesus was sittin’ on the couch next to ya?

How ‘bout you, gentlemen? Would you be watchin’ Sin to the Max and Home Box Offense and some of the garbage that is watched if Christ were sitting on the couch right next to you?

Would I have the same habits I have now? Would I suddenly want to give them up?

Would I have the same Bible study time, prayer and praise time?

Would I have the same spiritual time I have now?

What would Jesus find at my house —a holy, acceptable body and mind presented to Him as a loving sacrifice?

Paul says, it’s reasonable for God to ask me to present myself to God. Are we passionate for God or are we passionate for the world? The bottom line is—Do you love God or do you love this sinful world? Which one do you love more? That’s the question.

Are we gonna be abusive, and harsh, and unkind people who are unloving and proud or are we gonna be the kind of people that put God first in our lives and talk about real Christianity, Discipleship Christianity.

Christianity, the bottom of which is that I am a loving, Christ-like person, who is kind to my family, loving to my relatives, and neighbors, and friends, who spends time in the word of God; and who actually lives my faith in Christ, and not one who will just go to church once a week and then live like a demon the other six days.

I think we need to “get real” as Christians and stop bein’ a bunch of phony hypocrites who talk about God one day a week and then live and act like we’re heathens the other six. If we’re gonna be goin’ to church on Sabbath morning and sayin’ we love Jesus, then we sure oughta be loving and kind to our wives and our children on the other six days!

Now some of us have a problem.

In James 4:4 it says,

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Do you love the world more than you love God, worldly pleasures more than God?

Young people, are you into music that is filled with profanity, violence, sexual immorality, and a worldly sensuality; that you know Jesus would never listen to? Do you care more about Hollywood than “Holy-wood”? Do you care more about its heroes than you do about the Hero who died on the Cross and gave His life for you? Jesus Christ is the greatest hero that the world ever has known! The world loves Mark Maguire and Sammy Sosa ‘cause they hit homeruns! The world loves all these movie stars where one adulteress plays another adulteress. Congratulations!

The world loves Michael Jordan; they long for him to come back so they can cheer him again as he sails toward the basket! That same world though will stand up and scream with all their might for their heroes but they will look at you like there is something wrong with you if you stand up and shout for Jesus Christ!

If you stand up shout for Jesus or say “Hallelujah” or “Praise the Lord,” they will look at you like your crazy! They’ll say, “What’s wrong with him? He must be a religious fanatic! He must be a religious ‘nut!’” Now you could be a Nascar fanatic, a baseball fanatic, a football fanatic, but if you’re a religious fanatic, boy, there’s something seriously wrong with you!

Well, I say to the world, “Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Glory be to God! And if you don’t like it, too bad!” I am a fanatic for Jesus Christ! The world is wrong! If Jesus saved your soul, if He filled you with His Spirit, if He gave you joy unspeakable, you can’t stop yourself from praising Him. You can’t keep your love and devotion inside; it has to overflow from a heart filled with love to a dying world.

And yet is there really any lasting importance to the number of homeruns a man hits? How important is it in the game of life whether we go to heaven or go to hell? If we could have the curtain drawn back, if we could see the spiritual battle going on between the angels of God and the devil’s angels, we would realize that Satan is the pitcher in the game. He’s throwing curve balls and sliders. But Jesus who took His best shot, right down the middle of the plate and banged it out of the park! He hit a homerun; the universe won the World Series when Jesus defeated Satan. And if Christ is your Savior, you’ve really got something to be fanatical about!

If you added up every hour spent watching sports and soap operas and compared them with the hours you’ve spent dwelling in heavenly places in God’s word, on your knees in prayer, serving others, goin’ down there helpin’ Marie with the Community Service Center, which total would be higher? And let me ask you, which total would please God more (?) the hours spent in worldly entertainment or the hours spent passionately serving Jesus? It’s obvious, isn’t it?

Again, I ask you: Are you passionate for God? Are you excited about God?

A lukewarm Christian looks at God and all His blessings and yawns in His face.

I’m not so worried about those of you who are sinners who are barely makin’ it every day and who are crying out to God to help them because you’re afraid you’re gonna die in your sins. You’re okay in God’s sight ‘cause you’re cold but you can get hot! And those of you who are passionate for Jesus who know what I’m talkin’ about, who know when I mention the name “Jesus,” your eyes light up and you get excited. I’m not too worried about you!

But those of you sittin’ there yawning, lookin’ at your watch; wonderin’ what you’re gonna do when you get outta here and are bored and who look into God’s face and yawn in God’s face, you’re the lukewarm guy that God’s talkin’ about in Revelation 3, and I’m really worried about you!

God said, “I want you to be hot or cold but you’re so lukewarm I’m ready to vomit you out of my mouth!”

Now isn’t that a lovely picture?

Are you passionate for God? If you’re God’s friend, you’re the world’s enemy. There’s no two ways about it, if you’re the world’s friend, you’re God’s enemy. I’d rather have the world mad at me than God.

What do you say, Church (“Amen!”) is God your choice or the world? (“God!”)

Now, sometimes, you want to do the right thing but you have a hard time doin’ it. Have you ever felt like that? We’re all sinners. None of us are perfect, only Christ (is). But we can love Jesus. We can love Him, we can pray to Him and even if you blow it, you can ask forgiveness, can’t you?

What can this world offer you when Jesus comes that will be better than a close relationship with Christ? By his beautiful life, and His courageous death, Jesus stormed the very gates of hell and rescued the hostages from planet earth by the most sublime act of heroism the world has ever seen! Yet, remarkably, some foolish hostages want to remain with the terrorist and are actually accusing the Savior and rescuer of being the terrorist!

Some people foolishly accuse Jesus and God of acting like the devil. “God, why did You do this to me?” “God, I blame You for all my problems!” But when I look at the life of Jesus—a life filled with kindness, love, gentleness, and goodness; when I see His unselfish sacrifice on the Cross, His resurrection, His ascension to heaven, and His unselfish ministry in heaven as our High Priest—I can’t help but love Jesus! I can’t help but adore him! I can’t help but worship Him and, like Thomas, fall at His nail-scarred feet, and cry out “My God, my God, my Lord, my Lord, my king! I worship You!”

The Apostle says to “Be transformed,” be “metamorphosized.” The caterpillar spins the cocoon around himself and the total transformation takes place within the cocoon of God’s word; the beautiful butterfly emerges.

Likewise, the Christian man encases himself in this cocoon of God’s word, separating himself from the world by taking time to study (the Bible) and pray (to God and praise his Creator). There is the word of God; in that word he is miraculously transformed and renewed. (God renews his mind, and slowly changes his character into the image of Christ.)

Does a Christian man or woman who hasn’t spent time in the word of God, have any time for television or any of the other “entertainments” that the world has to offer? Yes or No? (“No.”) I can’t hear you! (“No!”) When are we gonna get serious, people? When are we gonna get serious about the Bible? When are we gonna say, “No worldly entertainment unless I’ve spent time in the word—period!”?

2 Corinthians 3:18 …

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed…” There’s that word again. We’re “…being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Are you going to be “conformed” from the outside (allowing the world to mold you into it’s image) or “transformed” from the inside (allowing Jesus to change you into His image)?

Change from the inside out (from glory to glory, goodness to goodness, from ashes to beauty). Let God change you. You’re either going to be conformed into the image of the devil or transformed into the image of God. (or you can be changed from the outside in: into the image of the Prince of Darkness and a world of selfishness). Which do you want?

Let me tell you something, the road to hell is paved with good intentions one program at a time, one day at a time of neglected Bible study and prayer will lead you straight to hell and it’ll be so comfortable that you won’t even know you’re goin’ there! All the while you’ll think you’re serving God ‘cause you go to church once a week and all the while you’re sliding right into the pit of hell.

Are you passionate for God, O Laodacean Christian; yawning in God’s face? When’s the last time you said to somebody, “Do you know Jesus? I love Jesus! I couldn’t live without my Savior! When’s the last time you got excited for God and told a neighbor, a friend, or family member about Jesus or are you sound asleep in the Church? You know Satan’s in the Church and he’s rockin’ the cradle while you’re sleepin’! He’s rockin’ the cradle! Zzzzzzz! No Bible study, no prayer meeting. Zzzzzzz! Rockin’ the cradle.

You know who’s rockin’ that cradle? The devil from hell. Lukewarm Christians go straight to hell. Lukewarm Christians are lost Christians! You know how I know that? ‘Cause Jesus is standin’ at the door (knocking).

Revelation 3:16…

He said, “I will spew you out of my mouth!”
“Behold I stand at the door and knock.”

If He’s knockin’ at the door of the Church, what’s that mean? Let Him in! That means He’s not in! That means some people are not converted! They think they’re in the Church, but Christ is knockin’ on the door tryin’ to get into their heart! Seventh-Day Adventists are riding their pews right into hell while the devil rocks the cradle. And Jesus knocks on the door of your heart and you say, “Not now, Lord, I don’t have time; I’m too busy watchin’ this or goin’ here, or doin’ this or that.”

Get real, people! Are you goin’ up or goin’ down? Are you bein’ conformed or transformed? Are you a caterpillar or are you a butterfly?

Only a converted mind can know the will of God.

It says you need to be converted so you can prove what is good and acceptable. If you’re not converted, you don’t even know what’s good. You can’t even figure it out! The carnal mind is God’s enemy. The world is God’s enemy. The carnal man thinks he’s smarter than God. The carnal man thinks he knows more than God, but he is incapable of knowing what is acceptable or good. He is a caterpillar. He is a “crawler” who can only see things from the view of one who crawls on his belly like a reptile.


He has a dirt’s eye view of life scurrying through each dreary day—no peace, no joy, just an empty, hopeless life, crawling around in the dirt, eating dust and never getting anywhere. No matter how many legs he has, he lives a bug’s life! But Church let me ask you, “Why crawl when you can fly?”

The crawler loves to roll around in the dirt listening to dirty music, reading dirty books and magazines, watching dirty movies and dirty programs, loving the earth with all it’s filthy, sinful habits. A crawler can’t get enough of the profanity, the sex and the violence, and the worldlier the better! But the strange thing is, no matter how much dirt he crawls through, the crawler is never satisfied. He remains a caterpillar, doomed to unhappiness, and each jaded day just blends into the next. But why crawl when you can fly?

Spin your cocoon! Go into God’s word, the cocoon of the Bible, pray to God to change your life. Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks! Behold! He says if you open the door of your heart and confess your sins, I will come in, I will forgive you of your sins, and I will take away your caterpillar life.

In the cocoon of God’s word, you will be miraculously changed.

You’ll be transformed.

You’ll be “metamorphosized!”

You will meet Jesus! He will change your life forever. He will come inside your heart, forgive all your sins, take control of your life. Habits you used to love you will now start to hate. Things you used to think were dull and boring will now become exciting! Everything will be seen as new and different. You will be recreated in God’s image!

2 Corinthians 5:17…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Your sinful past has passed away! Gone! You get a new start, a clean slate! A new beginning! All things become new! You can spread your wings and fly high above the worldliness and darkness of this planet. You can soar above the clouds Satan puts in your path. You can dwell in heavenly places where the sun is always shining! In the most holy place in heaven, you can go right there where it’s always bright and glorious!

The Bible tells us we can fly all the way to heaven through prayer, coming boldly into the very presence of God! (“Amen!”) We can soar high as we praise the Lord in our homes and in the church, dwelling in heaven and exalting the Lord with the angels of God. God’s butterfly wings to fly, high above this dusty earth!

Spread your wings, Christian! Fly high by faith, refusing to dwell in the dirt with the other caterpillars! Live a holy, peaceful, joyful life! Fly up into heaven with Jesus when he comes and live with him forever!

(Singing)“Some glad morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away to my home where joy will never end. I’ll fly away!”

Amen!
Beloved, why crawl in the dirt and filth of this world when you spread your wings and like a butterfly experience a complete metamorphosis, a transformation, into the person you have always wanted to be deep down inside?

Isaiah 40:31 …

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

(Leaves the microphone)

I’d like you all to stand right now. There are people in this congregation who need to be changed. They need to be transformed. They’re sick of being a caterpillar. They want to say “yes” to Jesus. They want to say, “I open the door of my heart. Come into my heart, Lord. Forgive me of my sins. Wash my sins away.” There are caterpillars who want to become a butterflies.

As we open (to Hymn) Number 499, and sing our closing hymn, I want to stand out here, and I want to give you an opportunity. There are lukewarm Christians here who have lost their way. They’ve lost the joy of their salvation. They are lukewarm and they need to be reconverted. They need to be filled with the Spirit. They need to be in love with Jesus again because somehow they’ve lost their way and they need to come back to Christ and be revived and reborn. I’m gonna stand up here in this cocoon, and I invite you to come and be transformed into the image of Christ.

Come on up! Walk on up here (and) be transformed. Say “yes” to Jesus (!) as we sing (“What A Friend We Have In Jesus”).

You have made a change this morning. You’ve said, “I want to be changed, I want to be transformed. I want my life to be new. I want to be reborn. I want to be converted. I want to be passionate for God. I want to be on fire for God.” You know we’re told that if there’s one Christian in the church who’s on fire for God, that that one Christian can ignite a fire that can light fire that will burn so brightly the entire church will be revived? (“Amen!”) And we have many people who have come forward today.

Are you tired of playing “Church”? Do you wanna get real and fall in love with a Savior who’s a living God, who will transform your life and change everything about your life? (“Amen!”) That’s why we’re here. We’re not here to play “Church.” Pastor Tom didn’t come all the way to the Newark Church to play “Church” with you. And for me to stand in the back and you come in, your heart breaking, and I go, “How ya doin’?” and you go, “Oh, fine…,” forget it! Let’s get real. We’ve got heartache. We’ve got pain. We’re sinners. We’re struggling.

We’re struggling with sin every day. My grandfather was an alcoholic; my father was an alcoholic. How hard do you think it would be for me to be an alcoholic? Do you think, as a pastor of the church, it will never tempt me? I am tempted! Every day I have to die daily!

I go to “bike” rallies. They say, “Would you like a beer?”

I say, “Yes, I would love a beer, but no, I can’t have one.”

“Why?”

“Because I like it so much, I’ll have ten of ‘em.”

“Oh, I understand. I’ve been there…”

And, then, they leave me alone. Every day you have to die.

How many of you will be in that Bible every day this week? Let me see your hands. I’m not asking you to change. I’m not asking you to change yourself. I’m asking you to spin the web of God’s word around yourself. How many of you will go into the cocoon? If you go into the cocoon of the Bible this week, God will change you. Will you go into the cocoon? I’m gonna ask you, “Did you ‘cocoon up’ this week?”

That’s what I want. I want Christians reading their Bibles, praying every day, and walking with Jesus. That’s all I want. I’m not asking you to change. I’m not asking you to stop doing the things you’re doin’. But when you love Jesus and read the word, He’ll make you stop doing the things you shouldn’t be doin’. And He is great. “Greater is He that is in you now than He that is in the world.”

Now when you came down that aisle and gave your heart to Christ, God washed away all your sins. He wrote your name down in the Lamb’s book of life. In two hours, the devil gonna come by and say, “Wipe that grin off your face! You have no right to smile.” And you say to the devil, “Yes, I do. My sins have been washed away. I am written in the Lamb’s book of life…and God looks at me as a butterfly. I’m a new creature. My sins are washed away and I’m now one with Jesus. And I love Jesus. And devil, you can go straight…” well, we wont’ say it! But we all know where he’s headed.J

Let’s all have a word of prayer.

Father in heaven, I give all these people to you, Lord. They’ve come forward to Your altar to meet You here. As Your representative, I have lifted up Christ and encourage them to choose Jesus and reject the world. When we preach grace, we are not saying association…(inaudible) Grace will transform our hearts so that we will do things that are pleasing in Your sight. And because we love You, we will keep Your commandments.

Lord, take these sheep of Your pasture, watch over them as…(inaudible) hearts, and help them to know that a prophet has been among them and that they have met Christ, crucified, while here at this altar. And may their lives never be the same again. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.


Closing Hymn: No. 499, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” (Seventh-Day Adventist Hymnal, Review and Herald Publishing Association, ©1985)

Organist: Delores Ruble

Special Music: Lynda Karr, “In Majesty He Will Come/ Majesty” From the album “Make His Praise Glorious,” by Sandi Patti

Accompaniment: Delores Ruble, Piano

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All Scriptural References: King James/New King James Version

www.BibleGateway.com, and www.StudyLight.org


Ellen G. White References: www.whiteestate.org


Transcription: Wendy J. Riebel


This sermon is also available on cassette tape.


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