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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Bryan Choi

Who Then Can Be Saved?

Well, I shared a little update about me earlier, but I'd like to share with you a little bit more before we begin.

As you guys know, some of you guys probably remember, before we left for Michigan, my wife and I left pregnant.

And I think you could hear her in the back, but she just, she disappeared with the mom.

But it's such a blessing to have a child, and I realize so much more how God loves us, more so.

When you actually have a child of your own, you experience God's love in a remarkable way.

And so today I also wanted to put a plug in for my church because I'm actually a pastor at the Chicago Central Korean Church back in Chicago.

And I know audio verses are actually heard all over the world, so I want to actually just kind of send a little plug for our church.

Because we're in the stages of growing, So it's a very exciting time.

So if there's anyone listening out there in the Chicagoland area, and you're looking for a church to attend, and you are passionate about evangelism and getting involved with church planting, I would love to talk to you.

I'm sure we'll have contact information on my profile on Audioverse, we'll work on that.

So if you know of anyone that's interested in internet ministry as well, please let me know.

I'd love to talk to you and discuss the options that we can consider.

And as you guys know, Chicago's known as the windy city.

And in Revelation, it says that the 4 angels are holding the 4 winds of strife.

So we need to have the 3 angels' message go out there as well, amen?

So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the topic of today's message.

Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much that we can gather together with like-minded believers, those who are seeking to be fed from your Word this morning.

And so, Lord, we ask that you please open our hearts, open our minds.

We claim the promise that you will send the Holy Spirit to those who ask, so we're asking and claiming that promise now.

Speak through me, I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

He started the first 24-hour news network called CNN, built a fortune worth $10 billion, was Time Magazine's Man of the year, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, made the New York Times Bestseller list.

He was also known to have sailed a sailboat faster than anyone else.

He even won the heart of a movie star named Jane Fonda.

Even considering all his accomplishments, Ted Turner is only human.

He recently celebrated his 75th birthday, and there was an article about it on CNN.com.

And it's very interesting because if you guys know who Ted Turner is, he was very vocal about his thoughts against religion.

He even said Christianity was a religion for losers and he described himself as agnostic and although when he was a younger man he was an atheist and he was spitefully anti-religious.

But according to an article on CNN.com, these days he's keeping the door of religion open just a crack, because he knows that time and youth is slipping away.

By the end of the day, these simple questions is what he's been pondering.

All these thoughts is coming to Ted Turner at this stage in his life.

When approached about going to heaven, he says, well I sure don't want to go to hell.

And he pauses on the interview and he says, did she say, she referring to Jane Fonda, his wife, did she say I was gonna buy my way in?

The old Ted Turner, the 1 who made billions and won the America's Cup and the World Series and launched CNN, probably would have tried to buy his way into heaven.

But the do-gooder Ted is earning his way in by saving bison and other endangered species and fighting for the oceans and preserving 2000000 acres of ranch land and standing up for women and supporting causes near and dear to the United nations.

Because of all that, Ted Turner gets into heaven, according to Jane Fonda, his wife.

So what is Ted Turner's notion of heaven?

Now we may not have an impressive list of accomplishments like Ted Turner.

As our lives draw to a close, we like Ted Turner will also wonder whether there's a place secured for us in heaven.

So I want to ask you guys these questions this morning.

Turn with me to your Bibles in Matthew chapter 19.

And we're going to look at verse 16, Matthew 19, verse 16, which reads, 19 verse 16, which reads, and behold, 1 came and said unto him, good master, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" And if you guys understand this story, this is the rich young ruler approaching Jesus, asking this question, what good thing should I do to inherit eternal life?

Verse 17, and he said unto him, why callest thou me good?

But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Now it's very interesting.

Jesus is stating that no 1 is good but God.

Now, Jesus was not stating that he as God in the flesh was not good.

Some people out there actually have a misconception of Jesus's divinity based on statements such as this.

But what Jesus is actually saying is he's actually laying out a principle that holds true.

Only God is good and the source of all good.

Whatever good we ourselves are capable of is nothing for us to boast about, for it is He that is enabling that good to manifest in us through the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says, there's none that does good, no not 1.

I think we need to be reminded about that sometimes because we live in a humanistic society where we sometimes believe everyone is good.

But even the good that we do, there could be bad motivations behind why we do those good things.

So Jesus is also setting the example that we should pay attention to.

Just as Jesus depended on the Father every moment for strength to overcome, without that dependence on the Father, we are not capable of doing good on our own.

Any good comes from yielding to God and denying self all the way.

It is the work of God in laying the glory of man to the dust and doing for man that which is not in his power to do for himself." I think I should have said amen to that.

Justification by faith is the work of God in laying the glory of man to the dust and doing for man that which is not in his power to do for himself." Jesus responds very interestingly to this young man.

He asked, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?

Now let's just take a slight detour and look at what the commandments are.

Why would Jesus point to the commandments?

Why would Jesus direct this young man to keep the commandments?

And so let's see what the commandments are, okay, according to what the Bible tells us.

So it says, And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, that he might preserve us alive as it is at this day.

Righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

So, it is for our righteousness to keep God's commandments.

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Who Then Can Be Saved?

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