GYC 2014: At The Cross

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Generation. Youth. Christ. (GYC)

Plenary

Natasha Dysinger

Keynote Address

Christian Berdahl

From Broken to Breakthrough

Stephen Bohr

Unquestioning Surrender

The Risk of Eternal Loss

Michael Hasel

The Bible, Christ, and Culture

David Shin

The Key of the Gospel

David Caukill

Get Off the Couch and Do Something

Downward Mobility

Kameron DeVasher

Counting the Cost

This message was presented at the GYC 2014 conference at the Cross in Phoenix, Arizona.

For other resources like this, visit us online at www.gycweb.org.

Well, at least those up here in front can hear me.

I was tremendously blessed by the message this morning.

Let's never forget the reason for our existence.

I'd like to have a word of prayer and then I want to make a clarification.

There's been a little rumor running around on cyberspace and I want to clear that up before we open God's Word but let's have a word of prayer first.

Father in heaven we thank you for the privilege of being here this evening.

We thank you this has been a high day, a high Sabbath filled with spiritual blessings.

Father, we ask that as we open your word that you will be with us through the administration of the Spirit and the angels.

Open minds and hearts and help us, Lord, to make a decision to be faithful to you, though the heavens fall.

Thank you for hearing our prayer, for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus.

It seems like because last evening I spoke about the relationship between the Father and the Son that there have been some rumors running around that Pastor Bohr is anti-Trinitarian.

The reason I spoke about the Father and the Son last night is because that was the theme that I prepared.

But I want to make it absolutely clear that the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy both teach that there are 3 distinct persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I want to go on the record so that probably some other naysayers will say well he said so but he doesn't.

I'd like to read just 1 statement from Ellen White on this particular topic it's from a document called Bible Training School March 1, 1906, so clear we can't misunderstand it, she says there are 3 living persons of the heavenly trio, so if you didn't get 3 you get trio, And then in case you didn't get that, she says, in the name of these 3 powers, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, those who receive Christ in living faith are baptized and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.

So there are 3 distinct persons, 1 in the sense of unity, co-substantial and eternal.

If you want to know a little bit more about the Godhead, I did a series a few years ago called revisiting the Godhead.

There's 4 presentations and I deal with this issue of the Godhead that has become a conflictive subject in the Adventist Church these days.

All kinds of ideas going around about the Godhead.

We need to be sure about what we believe, we need to be sure that there are 3 living persons in the heavenly trio that are all cooperating for our salvation.

I will be at the Secrets Unsealed booth this evening.

I'd like to meet many of you, so if you want to come to the exhibit area I'll be looking forward to be able to talk with you and share with you during the time that the booths are open.

Now we will transition into our study for this evening.

The Apostle Paul is known as the great apostle of grace and faith But what is frequently overlooked is that Paul is also the great apostle of good works.

In the epistles of Romans and Galatians, where the Apostle Paul deals more specifically with the issue of righteousness by faith, The Apostle in the first half of those books presents the theology of justification by faith.

And in the last half of those books, he presents how this concept of righteousness by faith should impact our personal individual lives.

And so for example, if you go to the book of Romans, you'll find that Romans 1 through 11, the Apostle Paul deals with the theology of righteousness by faith.

But in chapters 12 through 16, he deals with how this works out practically in our everyday lives.

In the book of Galatians he deals with the theology of justification by faith in chapters 1 through 4, and then in chapters 5 and 6 he deals with how this should impact our personal walk in our daily walk with Jesus.

So Paul was not only a strong advocate of righteousness by faith he was also a strong advocate of the importance of good works that flow from a faith relationship with Christ.

But I don't want to study this afternoon from Romans or Galatians.

I would like us to go to a passage that we find in the book of Titus, chapter 2, and I'm going to begin by reading verses 1 through 10.

And we're going to find here that the Apostle Paul addresses 5 groups.

First of all he's going to speak about aged men, that's in verse 2.

In verse 3 he's going to speak about aged women, in verses 4 and 5 he's going to address young women, in verse 6 he's going to address young men, And in verse 9 he is going to deal with servants.

So let's read that passage and there are certain words that I'm going to emphasize.

You're going to notice that most of what the Apostle Paul says here is behavioral.

I begin reading at verse 1, but as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine That the older men, here's the first group, that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in the faith, in love, in patience.

Then in verse 3 he goes on to the older women, the older women likewise that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given too much wine, teachers of good things and now comes the next group that they that is that the older women may admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

Verse 6, Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that 1 who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you." And then he exhorts bond servants, exhort bond servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." Did you notice the list of moral qualities in this passage?

Certainly the Apostle Paul was concerned about behavior, he was concerned about conduct and not only a theoretical idea of justification by faith which is generally held these days in the Christian world.

Now the passage that I especially want us to focus on are the verses that come immediately after these 10 verses that we have read.

We're going to have a textual sermon this evening.

Most of the sermons that have been presented are expository sermons.

But we're going to study a passage, phrase by phrase, this evening.

And that passage is Titus chapter 2, and verses 11 through 14.

And I want to read the passage first and then we are going to study it in more detail.

Immediately after speaking to these groups, the Apostle Paul says or writes, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts We should live soberly righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works.

Verse 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

The tense of the verb appeared is in the past.

This is something that occurred in the past.

Grace means that Jesus came to this earth, and through his work, he provided the means for our salvation.

The Apostle Paul said, for by grace are you saved, through faith, that none of yourselves it is a gift of God, not by works lest anyone should boast.

And so the Apostle Paul begins by appealing to the past.

He says, the grace of God has appeared for salvation.

That occurred as a result of the work of Jesus Christ while he was on this earth.

Notice what he continues saying in verse 12.

Now let me say something about that verb teaching.

It is translated training, educating, or disciplining.

In other words, grace teaches and it is in a present progressive tense Which means that grace is continually teaching Grace teaches something Continually grace teaches something the fact that Jesus came he lived for us.

He died for us he accomplished the necessary means for salvation that teaches us, is teaching us something and the question is what is it teaching us?

Well verse 12 continues saying, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.

It teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.

Once again The word denying is in a progressive tense, which means continually denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.

It means that continually we are to deny ungodliness and worldly lust.

I think the best passage that we can quote to understand what ungodliness is is found in Jude 14 and 15 Jude verses 14 and 15 here it is speaking about Enoch who lived in the 1 of the worst periods of history.

He lived before the flood when the world was really going downhill in a hurry.

And I want you to notice that this word ungodly is used 4 times.

It says there in Jude 14, now Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied about these men also saying, behold the Lord comes with 10000 of his saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are what ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Notice that the word ungodly has to do with deeds, it has to do with our way which deals with behavior, and it has to do with what we do with our conduct.

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Plenary

Downward Mobility

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