Man to Man

Tom Waters

Restoration International

Self-Government

You know the Bible illustrates 2 very contrasting characters in Israel's first and second king.

Isn't it interesting that both of these men, Saul and David, both men who were chosen by God.

Both the first king, Saul, and the second king, David, were chosen by God.

Saul proved the fatal results of allowing himself to be governed by self.

David proved the eternal results of allowing self to be governed by God.

Self-government is 1 of the most important aspects of the Christian life.

And here we are talking about self-government.

I thought God was supposed to be in control.

And now we're talking about self-government?

Well, we're going to talk about the difference tonight...

Or allowing God to govern us, being self-governed tonight.

You see, when Saul heard the command from God to destroy all, save neither man, woman, child, beast.

When he went in to take the orders to destroy the Amalekites, what did Saul decide to do?

Saul brought back a king, which was 1 of the customs back there.

Saul brought back a king and he brought back some...

He reasoned away a plain, thus saith the Lord.

The flesh and self And the push of the people against Saul, Saul was governed by self.

He was not allowing himself, he was not choosing to be governed by God.

Then his selfishness and the jealousies that developed in his heart caused him to begin to go after Israel's secondly anointed king.

But David proved to be self-governed under God.

When he was on the run from Saul, Twice he had the opportunity to destroy Saul's life.

Twice he decided that he would allow God to do it God's way.

That God could set up the kingdom in his time, in his way, and he would not interfere with God's plan.

Saul determined that his way was right and he reasoned away the word of God.

It got to the place with Saul that he could not be reasoned with at all.

And you probably remember the story of his own son, Jonathan, who under the direct guidance of God wrought a great victory for Israel, just with his armor bearer at his side under God's divine plan.

He didn't know the decree that his father had made that no 1 could eat, and so what did he do?

He was wearied from the day of battle and he had a little honey.

Saul had made up his mind his own son would have to be what?

And when he made up his mind, He couldn't be reasoned with.

And do you know why Jonathan wasn't killed that day?

The armies of Israel would not allow the king to carry out his command.

Saul did not learn self-government under God.

Proverbs 16.32 says, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." What does this mean?

The natural feelings that come up inside of us, the irritations, The emotions that want to rule us are not allowed to rule us.

But rather we choose to surrender those to God.

We choose to allow His Spirit to rule in us.

Man ruling under the governorship of God.

Because the text here says, He that ruleth his spirit, then he that taketh a city.

God expects us to make the choices, doesn't he?

We carry out the commands, but it's whether we are being ruled by God or we're being ruled by self.

The government of self that David demonstrated was letting God govern him.

Saul on the other hand, it was self-governing Saul.

Being run by the flesh, by the selfish motives of the flesh.

Man, the first verse, that verse says, He that ruleth his spirit, God is looking for men today, who will be self-governed men, real Christian men.

God is looking for self-governed Christian husbands and self-governed Christian fathers.

Aren't you weary of the results of self running your life?

Here are a few typical reactions that men tend to give in their fleshly response.

When self is governing, when self is ruling instead of Christ being in control.

When self is crossed, when self doesn't get my way, some men become irritated and agitated, angry and even violent.

Some simply withdraw and refuse to communicate.

Some men pout and feel sorry for themselves and begin to look for sympathy.

Some men cry when they don't get their own way.

Some become so manipulative that they will go to almost any length to get what they want.

Now as I shared those thoughts, those reactions of men, the Holy Spirit may have reminded you that this is like you in 1 or more of these areas.

You see, I will never challenge you from the pulpit on anything that God has not challenged me on personally.

If I'm challenging you tonight with these thoughts, it's because God is challenging me as well.

We have the same kind of flesh And we have the same personal God who is willing to deliver us from this flesh.

You see brothers, we have all been affected by our upbringing.

We have all had different baggage that we've come from different backgrounds.

We've been affected by the circumstances of our lives, by bad choices.

I could tell you many bad choices I've made and I've seen how they affected my life as I've looked back.

We've been affected by our inheritance, haven't we?

We've been affected by inheritance and certainly by the cultivated wrong habits.

Now that sounds very overwhelming, doesn't it?

You see, there's life-changing power in allowing Jesus Christ to have us in the present moment.

It doesn't matter where we've come from or how bad the baggage is, right now in this present moment, there is a Savior who is mighty to save.

I've had to find that Savior over and over, even here at this camp meeting, personally.

We are not in a once saved, once surrendered, always saved, always surrendered Christianity, are we?

Who’s in Control?

Tonight I'm going to be talking about who's in control.

I want you to think, and I'm going to be speaking especially to the men tonight, but I want you to think, who has really been in control?

Because we can have the profession of saying that God is in control.

We're good at filling out surveys, aren't we?

God is first in the Christian experience.

I have to say to you that what I ask you to do I do myself.

I don't ask any man to reflect upon what I have not been asked to reflect upon.

What has it been like over the last week?

The reason is that if we are in control, if I am in control, somehow between here and eternity, that has to change.

And I believe we're here because we recognize that and we're wanting to cooperate with God.

But between here and eternity, God has to be ultimately in control because the whole problem that we're dealing with in the Great Controversy started when somebody up in heaven said, I want to be in control.

Now he didn't come out and say it quite like that, did he?

But eventually he came to the position where he not only wanted to be in control and run heaven his way, But he wanted to put his throne above who?

And when that happens, friends, when we do that, we're in big trouble.

Because when I'm in control, then God does not force his way to be in control, does he?

Men, have you ever left your home late for an appointment?

You're in a hurry and someone pulls out in front of you.

I don't know how this can be, but when I am in the greatest hurry, or at least as I perceive that I really have an important appointment to meet, how is it that someone can pull out and appear, even though it's just a car, That car can appear to be in no hurry, just like a turtle in no hurry to get to its destination.

You're in a big hurry, how do you respond, men?

Now, those long beeps say something, don't they?

Those long beeps tell the person who is going very slowly something about the person who is pushing on that horn.

And especially if when you pass by that person that's going slow, there's a look that says something like this, what is your problem?

And that person, by the long beep and the expression upon a face of a man who is in control instead of God, tells that person who's in control, doesn't it?

You arrive home from work And you find out that your son has used your best screwdriver for a crowbar.

And now this screwdriver looks like a letter of the alphabet and it can no longer be used for its intended purpose.

Maybe I should ask our sons and our daughters.

We can chuckle, because isn't it the lot of humanity?

Isn't it our human nature to want to be in control?

When I let God be in control, when, by the way, that wasn't my son that did that to the screwdriver, but I've experienced that scenario in different ways.

But when God is in control, I can remember that I was a boy 1 time.

A boy that didn't always use the tools the right way.

But when I'm in control, men when we are in control and God is not in control, we can't think that way or we don't give time for God to let us think that way.

What ends up happening is not the picture of God in control, it's the picture of humanity separated from God that often is painted in that situation.

You see, I'm finding that yes, the lessons need to be learned.

Our young people need to learn to use the tools right, but the lessons are learned so much better when God is in control.

You know our Heavenly Father longs to have the full control of each 1 of us men.

He doesn't want control of us because he just wants to get us herded into a big group that he has control over and he can dictate.

Do you know that in heaven, before Lucifer introduced his selfishness, the angels didn't even recognize that there was a law that they were having to abide under.

Because the law of love in heaven was so powerful that it's just that was their highest service to serve God.

It wasn't like they were under a program.

God wants to restore us to that place where to serve Him is the spring of our action.

You see, He created us, He has redeemed us, and He will re-create us.

He will re-create us, completely restore us, if we will allow Him to be in control.

Isaiah understood that it was not an easy thing to do.

God speaking through Isaiah said, Woe unto him that striveth with his maker.

Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?

Doesn't feel very good to be made something that I don't feel like being made right now.

It doesn't feel very good to be stretched when you don't want to be stretched.

It doesn't feel very good when the car pulls out in front of us And we have something very important to accomplish.

It doesn't feel good when God is asking us to let Him mold us into something that in the moment we don't feel like being molded into.

Verse 13 says, I will direct all his ways.

Will God really direct us or was that just something for the Old Testament times?

He will direct our ways if we will allow Him to be the potter and we the clay.

You see, real Christianity chooses to let God have control.

In spite of circumstances, in spite of the feelings, in spite of the emotions, in spite of the strong opinions, real Christianity allows God to have control no matter how convincing self may be.

Frank Fournier

Eden Valley SDA Church

Intensity Of Desire

We were introduced to a fellow by the name of Gao Hongzhi.

Now, you probably haven't heard of Gao Hongzhi, because he was a very poor, illiterate Chinese peasant.

And in spite of being poor and a laborer, he discovered the power that exists in the science of prayer.

He felt an overwhelming desire to serve God.

His faith laid hold on God and what God could do, and God can do anything.

And he prayed with an intensity of purpose that was proportionate to the value of the object that he was seeking.

It was all to glorify God and it was all to save souls.

Now I'm going to repeat the story because quite a few of you were not here on Wednesday morning.

But this man Gao did not know how to read.

He had been baptized, and he couldn't read his Bible.

Now it's really hard to serve God if you can't read and if you can't remember anything you're told.

I think you can sympathize with that, I suppose.

So 1 day on a Sabbath after church, he was so burdened with wanting to serve God, that he went home and he didn't eat, and he knelt down in his living room or somewhere in his house, and he told God that he would not leave him, that he would not stop praying, that he would plead with him until God did something for him so he could serve too.

And he pled and he pled and we're not told how long he pled, but at a certain time during the day, probably some hours later, because God is never quick about this sort of stuff, you understand.

Some time later God said to him, go get your Bible and read Psalms 62.

Well, you know, he argued with God, what's the point of going to get a Bible?

I can't read and I can't find Psalm 62 and I can't read it, there's no point.

And God argued back and said, Go get your Bible and read Psalm 62.

And it was back and forth, back and forth, until the man decided, OK, OK, already.

He went and got his Bible, probably still in the wrapper, maybe not in the wrapper, we don't know, because he couldn't read, you understand.

And He opened it up to Psalm 62 and he read the whole Psalm.

Well, he was so excited that he ran clear across town to the head elder's place and he told the head elder that he had read Psalm 62.

The problem was he'd forgotten his Bible at home.

But that was okay because he recited Psalm 62 by memory.

God had worked a tremendous miracle for him.

And this man, Gao Hongzhe, is credited with 180 souls the first year he started to minister to people.

If you had the power, would you use it this way?

And if God can give this man that kind of power, is it anything for Him to give us the same thing?

The promise of the Holy Spirit belongs to us.

We are living in the time of the Holy Spirit.

Why do we not have amazing experiences like that?

Or maybe I should say, why do we not have more amazing experiences like that?

I've had the opportunity of sharing with people what God has done for me.

But I can't tell you even where I stand right now that God has done that much for me, that I was able to be so empowered that within 1 year I brought 180 people to Christ.

He may have done something like that for you.

If he has come on over, tell us about it.

You know, You can just come up when you're ready.

Now, why does God not move more in this direction than he does?

And do you know that the main reason, as far as I'm concerned, is that we are not like Gao Heng Tse.

I doubt that there's anyone here that can't read.

I had you turn to 1 Corinthians 1, a beautiful passage.

I've used it many, many times and I'm sure you have.

1 Corinthians 1, we're looking at verse 26.

The Apostle Paul speaking says, for you see, your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh and not many mighty, not many noble are called.

There's a tendency in us to think ourselves wiser than this man Gao.

You and I are wiser in the sense that we have had the opportunity of gathering far more knowledge probably than he has.

We are mightier because we have, by opportunity, the privilege of accomplishing greater things in this world.

We are more noble, at least in our minds, we think we are.

And if you don't think you are, I would like to send you to Africa.

You know, I grew up in Canada, and in Canada we have this crazy idea that we are not racial, racist, we are not prejudiced, we get along with everyone.

I'm telling you, you start to learn things about yourself that you didn't know existed.

Oh, but I have never been so impatient in my life as when I was sent to Africa, because they don't do things the way I do them.

And I start to think, well, they don't do them right.

Chester Clark

Dalton SDA Church

Making a New Start

It's already the middle of January, isn't it?

And some of us wrote our New Year's resolutions, and it already seems like a long time ago.

But you know, this morning is the first time I've had a chance to share with you this new year.

We've had special things going on the last 2 weeks and this morning I wanted to talk to you about making a new start.

Have you ever felt like you wish you could just push a reset button?

I'm going to talk for just a moment to the younger ones here in the audience.

Kids, any of you ever played Angry Birds?

Oh, I see some not so younger ones have played Angry Birds 2.

Well sort of 1 of the goals of Angry Birds is to get the 3 gold seals or something like that, the high scores.

And What happens when on the very first slingshot in that little smartphone game, what happens if on the very first slingshot you do a terrible shot?

Because you want to have every chance you can to have the high score And so I've seen kids they push restart 1 shot restart 1 shot restart 1 shot Trying to get that perfect first shot so they can have a perfect score sometimes we sort of wish life would be that way, don't we?

We wish we could just, you know, after we've said something or done something, that we could just push a reset button.

You know, somehow if there was just some reset button in life where we could just say, you know, we're gonna go back to the beginning.

Back to Menu

All Teachings

Self-Government

1h

Who’s in Control?

42m

Intensity Of Desire

31m

Making a New Start

42m

5 - Stand Up For Jesus

25m

4 - Don’t Join the Gang

30m

3 - Jesus Keeps His Promises

30m

2 - My Drowning Brother

28m

10 - Inlaws

29m

9 - Pry or Pray

27m

8 - Children Especially

30m

7 - Garden of Love

28m

Sound Doctrine