SWYC 2014: What We Believe: Back to Basics

Morning Devotional

Martin Kim

GYC Southwest

Humility 101

Before getting into the message, I just want to answer just a few questions that came in that were prayer related that were not covered.

Can you teach us a real simple prayer acceptable to God?

It's found in Psalm 67, verse 1 and 2, and I pray this almost every day.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Psalm 67, and it shows us what to pray and why God answers our prayers.

Psalm 67, verse 1, says, "'God, be merciful to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us.

And the next verse tells us why God blesses us.

That your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

If you want God to bless you, if you want to see many answers to prayers, understand that God will hear and answer your prayers, not just so He can bless you, but so that you can be a blessing to others.

Ellen White writes that the Holy Spirit will be given to all who come begging for the bread of life.

Ask God, God you got to bless me because if you don't bless me what can I give to others?

There's another question that came in, Is prayer the only medium to reach God?

But then I thought about the story about the widow, I mean the woman who bled for 12 years.

She just simply went and it was through the touch of faith that she reached out to God.

It is through prayer and faith that we reach out to God.

Alamite writes that our greatest, our need is our greatest argument.

So sometimes even if you don't know what to say, just just stay there in God's presence and just wait on Him and God understands what you need.

All right, I want to thank that brother who had prayer for us.

It was through his prayer that I just sensed that God was saying to me that the message I'm going to share this morning is the message that he wants presented.

The theme for this weekend has been getting back to the basics, And we've been talking a lot about what we believe.

And this morning, I want to talk about the basics of Christianity.

Ellen White in Desire of Ages tells us that the only greatness is the greatness of humility.

Andrew Murray in his book Humility says that the highest lesson a believer has to learn is the lesson of humility.

Dear God, thank you Lord for bringing us together for another opportunity where we can hear a word from you.

I just pray that you would send the Holy Spirit, the greatest of all teachers, to teach us.

But more importantly, Lord, please help us to know how to take the things we hear and apply them to our lives.

Please make your strength perfect in my weakness this morning.

Do you men ever get irritated or annoyed if your spouse or your girlfriend or someone of the opposite gender tells you how to drive?

Now is this just a guy thing or do the ladies also get irritated when there's a backseat driver?

Now how about you ladies, do you guys get irritated when you've worked hard all day long, you've worked very hard to prepare a nice meal, and your family members, they sit down, and they don't appreciate what you've cooked?

How many of you men get irritated if the food doesn't taste as good as it looks on the table.

How many of you get a little irritated when someone gives you advice or tells you that you are wrong?

Do you know why these things irritate us?

Yes, that is the correct answer I was looking for.

Pride is the root of every sin and every evil.

We get easily irritated because we lack humility, which is the root of every virtue.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke Chapter 17.

Luke Chapter 17, and we'll read this parable, which begins in verse 7.

In this parable, Jesus teaches us about servanthood.

What is expected of a servant, and what must be the proper attitude of a servant.

Verse 7, it says, and which of you having a servant, plowing or tending sheep, will say to him, when he has come in from the field, come and sit down to eat.

Either servants of Christ or servants of?

Now servants spend their day out in the field.

And at the end of the day, his servants come in.

But will he not rather say to him, prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself, and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink?

The servant always puts others first, himself second.

Verse 9, does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?

So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are what?

So Jesus teaches us the necessity of 2 virtues.

These are the 2 true characteristics of true servanthood.

Do you see yourself as a servant of Christ?

In other words, are you an obedient and humble servant?

Would others see you as an obedient and humble servant?

What would your spouse or your children say?

How do we know if we have a servant's heart?

By how we act when we are treated like 1.

Let me share with you a definition of humility that has been very helpful to me.

Humility is acting like a servant when you are treated like a servant.

So if you men are driving and your spouse says, Honey, can you drive a little faster?

You can say, Honey, don't tell me how to drive.

I'm the man, I've been driving for 15 years, Don't tell me how to drive.

If you don't like the way I drive, you can get out and walk.

But if you are a servant, you could say, honey, anything you like.

And when you ladies cook food and you sense that your husband or your children aren't appreciating all your hard work, you can get bent out of shape and you can say, if you don't like my food, from now on, you can cook it yourself.

Plenary

Taariq Patel

A Muslim and His Christian Mother

You know, I'm in the back there and I'm listening to all these testimonies, but I can't help but notice that there are a lot of young people coming up here giving testimonies.

But 1 thing that really struck me so profoundly is that SWIC, GYC Southwest, is put on by some young people themselves.

And I know they don't want me to give them praise.

It's about asking you all to pray for them.

The staff, the people who put this stuff together, who organize it, who pray hard, and all this stuff so young people's lives can be touched.

I know for a fact that the devil is after them as well, major, So I would ask you all to keep them in prayer because it's things like this when young people see the Word of life being lived it makes a difference.

They don't want to hear a sermon they want to see a sermon you know.

So these kinds of gatherings since I've given my life to God, there's a different atmosphere here.

There's a spirit of seriousness, there's a spirit of love, there's a spirit of people who are about God's business.

People who are seeking a relationship with him.

And you know, it's that kind of thing that just emanates naturally and people can feel and feed off that.

The Bible says that they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

The devil, Satan, by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

Not by the blood of the lamb alone, but by the word of their testimony as well.

I was reading in the Spirit of Prophecy and she says that speech is a talent that God has given everyone.

And if you can share the goodness of God and what he's done in your life, you would be surprised how many people are going through the same thing or can relate to you.

It uplifts and it shows people the reality of God.

Before I even continue, I wanted to say a word of prayer.

Father, we are grateful Lord, because the testimony is really your testimony.

It is revealing your power in human lives.

Power to save from the lowest depths, Lord.

Power to save from the most impossible situations.

Power that shows us who you are when we least expect it, God.

And Lord, we are so grateful for that power that you show us and speak to us individually so we can understand for ourselves.

And I'm thankful God for my family here, Lord.

And Lord, what we experience here, what we share amongst each other, may we continue to carry this mission out when we go back home.

May we remember what we received here and put it out into practice out there.

This is training up here, but out there is the war.

Let us remember that you're with us, God.

Before I go further, I pray for forgiveness for my sins and Lord that you would please use me my mouth my mind my heart my actions that I would Do and say what you want me to do and say.

I pray that those out here who need to hear a word from you today, that they would be attentive to your voice.

God, I just thank you because you're always faithful to us.

I thank you for your goodness, Lord, and your mercy that endures forever in Jesus name amen.

I've shared it so many times, but each time I share it, like my sister said, when you water someone's soul or you seek the water, you yourself get watered.

For me, I'm 33 years old and when I see God moving the lives of young people, it really to me is that's the most powerful testimony because man when I was young I was a knucklehead And the things that you guys are talking about and testifying and confessing, ah man, well God knows.

But the Lord is working in your life in a mighty way.

And I just pray that you continue to hold his hand.

Well, I was born in Gloucester, England in 1981.

My father's name is Muhammad, or Muhammad, and my mother's name is Esme.

And there they had 3 boys, my twin brother and I, and 1 brother 1 year older than us.

And we grew up going to the mosque 5 times a day, pretty much, reading the Quran.

I was reading the Quran in Arabic when I was 5 years old.

I never forget when my father would sit right in front of us, we would cross our legs, have our topis on, our little hats, have the Quran, we're learning the alphabet, and we're rocking back and forth and we're reciting our prayers.

He always had his sandal right there, his slipper right there, and if we made 1 mistake, didn't pronounce the word right, then that sandal will come out, flashing at us.

So it was very much looking at that sandal as we're trying to recite the prayers, you know?

So you know what, it made me get it right though, I was really good.

But you know, growing up as a young Muslim, it was very much of a religion that was very stern, strict.

We were told a lot of things like we gotta get it right or our father won't make it to Jannah, won't make it to heaven.

If we tell lies, the angel Gabriel will pull out your tongue put it back in your mouth, however many lies you tell.

We didn't go to McDonald's, we didn't do certain things that other kids did, you know.

We went to the mosque all the time and hung out with the brothers, you know.

So it was, I remember telling my father when I was a young kid, I'm gonna be a good Muslim boy, and I meant it.

And so we grew up in this type of environment, but when we were 1 years old, my brother and I, twin brother and I, We actually left England and came to the United States.

So we grew up going to the mosque as we were younger in the United States in Hartford, Connecticut.

It was at this time that my mother, when we were around the age of 8 years old, 8 years old, that She met with Jesus once again.

I say once again because she was born and raised an Adventist, grew up in an Adventist home.

However, she had backslidden and my father wasn't really that devout back in those days and they got to know each other, relationships, and they got to know each other and out came 3 boys.

But my mom had received a book, I believe she was digging in the garage and she found a copy of Steps to Christ or Desire of Ages, and she fell in love with Jesus once again.

And she had a co-worker that was a Seventh-day Adventist, and her testimony is powerful.

And long story short, God was speaking into her heart.

And she would see her 3 young boys being taught Islam and it struck her profoundly because she remembered Sabbath school with the felt boards and the singing and was there was no sandal there in Sabbath school you know so It struck her profoundly because my boys are growing up missing the joy of the Lord.

But my mother had a conversion experience and she couldn't help but tell us about Jesus.

My father would go to work So out comes the Bible and for the first time we're learning about Joseph and Daniel and David and Moses and these stories were fresh and Uncle Arthur's bedtime stories I mean brand new things And it was amazing.

My father didn't like what was going on because Islam and Christianity in the house, straight controversy.

At the time, it was 1989, my father was at the mosque.

A lot of the brothers, Muslim brothers, were coming from Afghanistan in the war with Russia.

And they would come and a lot of them worked and lived in Saudi Arabia.

And they would whisper into his ears like, hey, you could go to Saudi Arabia, move your family to Saudi Arabia, you'll have full control of your family there.

And my mother at the same time was praying to God, Lord I want an experience with you, an experience that I read about in this word.

I don't want no weak experience and she's praying that tough prayer and I don't know if she was ready for what she was about to get.

So she felt impressed, and my father was pushing this agenda to take all 5 kids now, I had 2 sisters that were born in Connecticut, to take all 5 of us to Saudi Arabia.

Next thing you know, we're at Faith Church in Hartford, Connecticut.

They gave us a farewell, prayed for us, and then we're off on this plane to Saudi Arabia.

Got off the plane, never forget the feeling of the heat.

I thought It was nighttime, midnight, walking down the steps on the airplane there, and it felt like the jet engine was just blowing on us.

Thom Mayer

Modern Medium- Part 3

All right, well thank you everybody for coming to the last of the three-part series here I've titled Modern Medium.

This is the last of the Battlefield Hollywood presentations that I'll be giving here at SWYC.

And I appreciate all your guys' feedback and your attentiveness and that sort of thing.

Because yeah, we definitely are living in the last days, and I totally believe that Hollywood is playing its part.

So here we're going to just look a little bit more behind some of the actors and the writers and how they come about their best performances.

So before we start that we'll start with a word of prayer.

Again Heavenly Father we come before you and we ask for your Spirit to be with us in this place.

As we look at these things, Lord, we know that the battle that is before us is not against flesh and blood, but it is against principalities and powers that are here that wish to deceive us.

So Lord, send your angels to camp around us and keep those spirits that want to keep us in the dark away from us, away from this whole camp, And away from us as we leave here.

Lord, just put a hedge of protection around each person in this place, their families.

Thank you for your forgiveness and your mercy.

And Lord, open our hearts and our minds to the things that you'd have us know.

Why do you think it is that we worship God?

Because we were created to worship, she answered it right away, right?

It's actually, and there's an article in here that proves that from a scientific standpoint.

If you guys have your Bibles, you can turn there.

So the Bible says here, Revelation 14, starting in verse 7.

The first angel says, "'Saying with a loud voice, "'Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come.

Worship Him who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and the springs of water.' Another angel came flying in saying, Babylon is fallen, the great city, because she has made the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Then the third angel followed saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast or the image or receives his mark on his forehead or in his hand, he himself shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out in full strength into the cup of his indignation.

So, clearly the 3 angels message has a lot to do with worship, right?

And who we worship in the end is going to determine which mark we receive.

Matthew 410 and Jesus, this is when Jesus is being tempted in the wilderness, right?

Jesus said to Satan, Get thee hence Satan for it is written thou shall worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.

John 4 23-24 but the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

For the Father seeketh such to worship Him.

God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

So if you just look at the definition of Spirit, that non-physical part of a person, the seat of our emotions, our character.

We are to worship God with our very character.

And as He transforms our characters and we become more and more like Christ, that is worship.

If you look in the Bible and you look at The stories there, they're all there for our admonition, right?

And all throughout the scriptures, there's been false systems of worship that have, people have, different individuals and groups have tried to set up.

Right there at the very beginning, The first 2 brothers, Cain and Abel, they were instructed to bring a sacrifice to the Lord of a lamb.

And representing the coming of a savior, right?

And Cain, of course, said, I'm not a sheep herder, I'm a farmer.

So I don't want to give a sacrifice of a lamb, I want to give a sacrifice of my fruits of my labor, right?

And so was Cain saying, I'm not going to worship you God?

He was saying, I want to worship you God but I want to worship you in my way.

So we, and clearly from the story, we know that God did not accept Cain's offering.

Cain became enraged and ended up killing his brother, becoming so jealous for him.

Again, in the Old Testament, there at the base of Mount Sinai, Moses had gone up to receive the 10 Commandments and the people became weary and they thought that Moses had died.

And They became disgruntled and they actually wanted to go back to Egypt.

There's a huge group of them that wanted to go back to Egypt, if you remember at this point.

And they said, well, we can't go back empty handed.

We got to make a God that we can carry with us say that this is the God that led us out of Egypt.

And they went to Aaron and they said, Aaron, make us this golden calf.

And this is just idol worship that they had learned while being in Egypt.

And Aaron, trying to, I mean, obviously he didn't want to do this thing.

So he thought he would appeal to their vanity and say, well, yeah, bring me all your jewelry, and I'll make this thing.

And they willingly brought their jewelry.

I mean, this isn't something that he just whipped out in a day.

I mean, Aaron probably worked on this thing for a while, right?

He had to melt down all that gold and form this thing into a calf.

Back to Menu

All Teachings

Humility 101

41m

A Muslim and His Christian Mother

1h 15m

Modern Medium- Part 3

1h

The Time of Trouble

1h 10m

The Brothel of Babylon

1h 11m

Modern Medium- Part 2

58m

Modern Medium- Part 1

1h 11m

A Deeper, More Intimate Experience with God

36m

The Storm Is Here

1h 22m

Questions and Answers- Part 1

25m

Book of Nature, The Nature of the Book

54m

God’s Farm

1h

Sound Doctrine