NEC 2015 Camp Meeting: Strong Families, Strong Churches

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NEC Youth

Dwayne Lemon

Practical Instructions

And Father, as we prepare our hearts to receive your Word, we're just asking that you would please remove any distraction from our minds.

We ask that you will please open our eyes and help us behold wondrous things out of your Word.

For We ask all these things as well in Jesus' name.

I would like to invite you to turn your Bibles to the book of Matthew 7.

Let's go to Matthew 7 and let's look at the Bible very clearly and let's see what the Word of God has to say to us.

We're in Matthew, the seventh chapter, and these are some very solemn words from the Lord, and they're worthy of consideration.

And I want you to study with me this morning as we're looking at Matthew, the seventh chapter, And we're going to look at verses 21 to 23.

I don't know if it is fully understood, and therefore it would be well for us to study it deeply.

It says, not everyone that saith unto me what?

Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

It says, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?

And in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works.

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Christ acknowledges that they were workers.

He doesn't deny that, but ultimately he says their works were works of iniquity.

So that 1 of the solemn realities for us is we need to understand it is possible to be members of the church, it is possible to be workers in the church, and still be recognized as children of iniquity.

It is because of this that we don't want this to be our reality, that we need to find out how can we make sure, by the grace of God, that we do not fall into this category?

How do we make sure that as young brothers and sisters in Christ that we don't fall into this category of individuals that Christ is going to have to utter these extremely sad words?

I believe that Jesus will not say, depart from me, I never knew you, with a smile on his face.

I believe he's going to say that with tears pouring from his eyes.

I believe that these are the saddest words to come from the lips of Jesus, that he has to look at people that were serving and doing lots of things, but they were not doing the main thing.

Now the question is, what is the main thing?

What is it...Jesus makes it clear what they did not do.

But what is it that they should have done that would have allowed them to enter into the gates, to enter into heaven?

What is it that they should have been doing that could have enabled them to enter into the kingdom of heaven?

Okay, they did not do the will of the Father.

So notice they were doing a lot of things but they did not do the main thing.

The main thing, according to the text, is that They did not do the will of the Father.

So notice, they were doing a lot of things, but they did not do the main thing.

The main thing, according to the text, is that they did not do the will of the Father.

So what do you think is the most important question in the world?

So let's go to the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.

If we go to 1 Thessalonians the fourth chapter, you will find exactly what the will of God is.

And the Bible makes it very clear, very, very plain language.

1 Thessalonians, we're going to chapter 4, and when you get there, just let me know by saying, Amen.

So when you look at 1 Thessalonians 4, we can see from verse 3 exactly what the will of God is.

And you want to mark that in your Bible if you are 1 who marks your Bibles.

You want to mark this because this is the will of God.

This is the key of how an individual can get from earth to heaven.

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 3, it says, for this is the will of God.

And what is the will of God according to the verse?

The result of true sanctification is we flee fornication.

So the will of God is that you and I become sanctified people, holy people.

This is the issue right now, not just in Christianity.

This is the issue right now even in Seventh-day Adventism.

There's a lot of proclamation, but there's not enough living.

This is not even an issue, it's a crisis, is that there is more that we profess than we live as a people.

And God wants us to understand his desire is for you and I to be holy people.

He wants us to literally be like Him, and with Christ, it is possible.

So therefore, when I think about this, no wonder Ellen White makes this statement here where she says, as the storm approaches, She says, a large class.

A large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message.

What class of people on earth profess faith in a third angel's message?

So this quote, does it apply to Seventh-day Adventist?

It says, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but have not been what?

Sanctified through obedience to the truth.

It says, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition, and they become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.

This is a reality that is written in inspiration, and we can't change it, but by the grace of God, we don't have to be part of it.

So when we studied last time, we saw that we have a prophetic responsibility to help spare or save lives, to be instruments in the hands of God to save lives like Joseph, to be an instrument in the hands of God to save lives like Daniel, to be instruments in the hands of God to save lives like Daniel, to be instruments in the hands of God to save lives like those young children that were heralding the coming of Jesus.

God has helped us understand that we have a prophetic responsibility.

It is imperative that we understand who we are and whose we are and what God has given to us so that way we may do His work efficiently and the goal will be accomplished that we will be holy ultimately as God is holy.

It is for this reason that this morning all I'm going to do is I'm going to give you, I've entitled our study together Practical Instructions.

It's just simply that, practical instructions.

What are some of the closing instructions that God would have me to give to you for these few minutes that we have together?

Your goal is that God expects something that the majority of the world and even churches today say is impossible.

He expects you to literally have his character.

He expects you to be holy just like Jesus when He walked on this earth.

And therefore, that's going to take everything from you.

I'm serious when I say that because 1 thing that you're going to face is something called temptation.

And as long as you have human nature, you shall be tempted.

But we have to understand, when the temptations come to us, God has given us counsel.

James chapter 4, when temptation comes, God has given a counsel to us.

And I want you to see what the counsel is.

We're going to the book of James, we're looking at chapter 4, and we're going to consider verse 7 because our desire is to understand what is the practical counsel that God wants to give to us knowing that we're going to face temptation.

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