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Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

Brian Hindman

Walking With Jesus Through Final Events

Today we're going to be looking at a Bible study, a very practical Bible study, as we look at walking with Jesus through final events.

I've been excited about the series that our senior pastor has been leading us through with the events that have been revealed to us in Scripture and in the spirit of prophecy as we look forward to what's ahead of us.

God doesn't reveal information if it's not important for us to know, amen?

He reveals things that he wants us to know.

But I think it's also important on a practical level to realize that he is gonna be with us and wants us to walk with him through all of these events.

And so he will provide for whatever needs we might have that will arise due to these final events, some of which are very serious, life-threatening events.

And so today, very simple message, but I hope intensely practical as we open and look at our Bibles about what Jesus can do and wants to do in your life and in my life today, as events are unfolding and going forward into the future.

But if you'll just bow your heads with me I'm gonna have a short prayer before we launch into our study.

My Father in heaven, Lord thank you so much for the privilege of preaching and of speaking to your people who have come to hear a word from you.

And so I pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would speak through me and that the words that I say would only be your words that would inspire and quicken our hearts, our minds, our faith would be strengthened, and our connection with Jesus would be more vitalized, more vigorous than before we came today.

And I pray all these things in Jesus' precious name, Amen.

All right, you know thermometers have been popular here lately, haven't they?

All kinds of thermometers with the pandemic, but what is our spiritual thermometer?

As we look at the condition of where we are, the picture that's painted in Revelation chapter 3, the seventh of the 7 churches, the final church that is to be on the earth until the Lord comes gives a picture that our faith is very weak.

Our self-sufficiency and trust in ourselves is very strong.

And then third and final, Jesus is described as being where?

As being outside the door of our hearts, not only wanting to come in but patiently waiting, waiting for us to choose to allow him to come in.

Jesus never brings a SWAT team and kicks the door down.

He waits for our power of choice and respects that so much.

What does this church, Laodicea, in a general sense need?

3 things that are mentioned here in verse 18, gold tried in the fire.

We understand that that is a faith that is motivated and driven by love.

First Peter 1.7, that your faith being more precious than fine gold as it's tried in the fire.

And Galatians 5.6 says the only thing that matters with Jesus is Faith which works by love in other words the motivation for faith and believing in God is love and Then we have white raiment.

Think you know these things Christ's glorious righteousness, You know in the Bible garments are likened unto character and filthy garments in Isaiah 65 are likened to filthy character.

All our righteousness is filthy rags, but then pure garments.

Isaiah 61 verse 10 talks about being clothed with the garments of salvation and the robe of Christ's righteousness.

And that is not just something that is a 1 point in time that we receive, it is a daily experience, I believe, that empowers us to live a godly and holy life.

Are you aware that Christ's righteousness, it is a continuing ongoing empowerment to do the will of God.

And so that is a vital need for all of us.

And then third and finally, Laodicea is counseled to anoint their eyes with Isav that they might see.

And this is a relation to spiritual discernment which is of course directly related to the Holy Spirit.

We must have the Holy Spirit if we are to be Christ's children and to be his followers, our greatest need.

We studied that this morning in the youth Sabbath school lesson.

That was our focus in the class, was on the gift of the Holy Spirit and how God is more willing and more anxious to give this gift which brings with it all other gifts and it's trained than our parents to give good gifts to their children.

Well let's just discuss for a moment or consider, what if I try to go it on my own and just do it my way?

Maybe as Frank Sinatra sang, that's not a good idea.

Proverbs 16, 25, there is a way that seems right unto a man or a woman, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

It might seem right if I follow my own reckoning apart from God, but the end result is only the loss of my salvation, the loss of my soul.

Jesus makes it clear, John 15, 5, apart from him, how much can we do?

So a connection with him is of the highest importance.

A connection not only for forgiveness and for repentance and for sanctification and those things but a connection with him that relates into the daily life the practical decisions and choices and experiences that we have on a daily basis So as I thought and considered the message for today, I was down on my knees with my face on the floor early in the week pleading with the Lord, what can I say to your people that will encourage and inspire and equip and prepare them for the time that we're living in now and what is to come very soon?

Probably sooner than most of us, maybe all of us even imagine or realize.

And so walking with Jesus is of the greatest importance and we want to learn to develop and cultivate and strengthen that even now today here this morning.

Amos chapter 3 and verse 3 the Bible says can 2 walk together except they what?

What does walking relate to in the Bible?

It refers to our conduct, our behavior, our actions.

If I want to walk this way and act and go over this direction and my wife wants to walk over this direction and go another way, how can we walk together unless we both agree we're gonna go this way, oh yes dear, we're gonna go where you want to go.

We're gonna go this way, sometimes maybe where I want to go.

But the same with Jesus as with in our own relationships, we must be in agreement with Him and His will for our lives.

He said to His disciples and those that were listening to Him in Luke 9 23, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross.

It's a daily experience of taking up my cross and then what does Jesus give as an invitation?

That is the invitation this morning for all of us and Jesus lays down the prerequisites for what He wants us to do.

If I take up my cross, it is for my own execution that I would die to self and my selfishness and selfish ways and self-sufficiency and submit and trust fully and completely into Jesus' hands and to follow Him.

The call is given in 1st Peter 2 21 it says that Jesus has given us an example that we should follow His steps.

To follow after Him is to walk with Him in all that we do.

Justin, again thank you for reading that scripture so well.

This is a very powerful passage today that is the anchor and the foundation for what we're looking at.

We're going to look at 5 areas that I have just thought and identified as problems or fears or concerns that we all face and how Jesus meets those as we walk with him.

But this passage here, I wanna encourage you to memorize this.

There's just, there's so many pieces and sub-pieces and connections here.

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you Just notice that God doesn't work on the principle of addition.

It's on multiplication We have a math teacher here, right?

Multiplication grows much more exponentially, rapidly than just simple addition.

God wants us to have these needed Characteristics and things that he offers grace power and peace peace of mind We need that so much multiplied unto you now notice how it comes through this is the vehicle through the knowledge of God a knowledge of Who he is and what he says and what he tells us and of Jesus Christ our Lord and then I love verse 3 according as his Who is the his it is God his divine power his divine power has given to us how much?

All things all things nothing is missing that you need are you aware that nothing that you need for this life or in the life to come is missing that God has not granted and given to you all things that pertain unto life and godliness.

Godliness refers to God-likeness, the ability to have his character, his love and his mercy shine forth in our lives.

All things that pertain unto life and godliness.

And notice how this comes through the knowledge of Him that had called us to glory and virtue.

And so today I wanted to be clear that God has provided for us all of what we need and we must walk with Jesus to have those connections to receive what He promises to us.

So first problem that I identified, many of us have fear, depression, and anxiety.

Newspaper headline from several days ago says the pandemic-related anxiety and depression still on the rise.

And we know things are because of the events that we see coming are only going to get much worse.

But fear and depression, that is a that's a serious thing.

Maybe I'm going to just preach to myself today and you guys can eavesdrop.

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Walking With Jesus Through Final Events

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