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Lansing SDA Church

Wes Peppers

The Joy of Discipleship

We're going to have a word of prayer this morning, and we're going to dive into our subject this week called, continuing our series on discipleship, the joy of discipleship, a greater work than church office.

And as Jesus said to those who are weeping for Him, pray for yourselves.

Father in heaven, Lord, we humbly come to you this morning.

We ask for your presence to be with us today.

Lord we've seen your work, we've seen your hand at work this morning in the life of Danny through our service this morning.

We're thankful for the special musics that allow us to reflect upon your goodness and your blessings in our lives.

We're thankful, Father, that we can open your word together today and we pray this morning that your presence would guide and guard our hearts this morning.

Let our hearts be focused upon the words that you would speak today.

We plead for it as a gift this morning, that you would draw our hearts close to you.

Friends, in 2016, prophecy is continuing to be fulfilled.

We are living in the last scenes of Earth's history.

If you don't believe that, all you have to do is just read a few passages of Scripture and then look in the Lansing State Journal or any newspaper, and it will tell you that we are living in the last days.

The final prophecies of Earth's history are being fulfilled.

And we can put our heads in the sand, we can turn the other way, we can pretend it's not happening, and yet it will continue to happen.

Just this week, I saw in the news a number of things taking place.

In January 25th, in Yahoo News, just this week, it was announced that the 500th year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is this year.

It was announced this year, but next year.

When Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door in Wittenberg, and there is going to be a very special service commemorating that, And the special guest will be Pope Francis himself.

There to join in prayer and worship with the Protestant people who are celebrating their separation from a tyrannical system of the Dark Ages.

It was stated by the Pope, we cannot undo what happened, but we cannot allow the...

Something of the mistakes of the past to poison our relations.

Also, on January 21st, a group of Lutheran leaders came together for a special meeting with Pope Francis and received, after that meeting, communion with the Pope, Or from the Pope, I should say.

This is actually forbidden in the Catholic Church policy, but they've allowed it to take place.

It says, "...the Pope acknowledged that explanations and interpretations of communion may differ between Catholics and Lutherans, but life is bigger than explanations and interpretations." I would have to agree with that statement, except if you're talking about the interpretations of Scripture and the expectations of Scripture.

How many would agree with that this morning?

And then it said, at the root of this there is without a doubt the ecumenical attitude of the new Vatican." Very interesting.

And then Cardinal Robert Serra made this statement.

He said, It is not a personal desire or a personal dialogue with Jesus that determines if I can receive communion in the Catholic Church?

How can I know that the Lord has really said, come and receive my body?

No, a person cannot decide if he is able to receive communion.

Now this is very interesting, and the thing I want to point out is that it is not determined by me having a relationship with Jesus whether or not I should receive communion, but it is decided by the church.

But in Corinthians, Paul says, before we take the communion, let a man examine himself to see if he is worthy in the faith to accept the communion service.

It's for me to work that out with my own Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Now friends, I bring this up because I want to point out that once again, Revelation chapter 13, Revelation chapter 17 and multiple other passages of Scripture are rapidly being fulfilled.

This movement is coming together like nobody's business, faster than it ever has before, and all the words of the Protestant Reformers are coming to pass.

The words from this great book, The Great Controversy, coming to pass.

And I read a statement this week from the book Evangelism.

If you've never read it, I want to encourage you to read it.

I found this statement, and these events brought my mind to this statement.

The Lord is just continuing to wake me up to these things.

It says, we are now living in the closing scenes of this world's history.

Let men tremble with the sense of the responsibility of knowing the truth.

I'm going to ask you this morning, is understanding the truth in the last days so important to you that you are putting it as the first important priority of your lives?

Is knowing the truth today a concern for you or is just going through life just like always what's consuming you?

It is stated here that let men tremble with the responsibility of knowing the truth for the times in which we live.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

In John 17, 17, Jesus said, Thy word is truth.

So secondly, we need to know the word of God for ourselves as the truth.

Are you trembling each morning when you wake up, sensing your need for Jesus that day?

Are you waking up each morning saying, Jesus needs to be the priority of my life.

The kingdom of God needs to be the priority of my life.

Not just simply knowing the truth for myself, but sharing that truth with others.

That they may also know what it means to come to know Jesus.

And friends, let me tell you, I believe that to be true.

What Tim said earlier, this may be Unlocked Revelation beginning March 28th.

A series on Bible prophecy open to the public and open to the community.

This may be our final opportunity to share the gospel in that way.

But let me tell you, I believe that we're living on borrowed, borrowed time.

Proper consideration of these things will lead all to make an entire consecration of all that they have and are to their God.

Let me ask you a minute, a question this morning.

When you look at your house, When you look at your car, when you look at all the things that you possess, when you look at your bank accounts, when you look at your clothing, when you look at your children, when you look at everything that is in your possession that the Lord God has blessed you with, Ask yourself the question, Is all that I have entirely consecrated to the Lord's cause?

Ask yourself that question about your time.

What you do together as a family for entertainment.

What you do alone by yourself in the darkness of your bedroom home is every choice, every action, every desire, every resource of your life, is it dedicated entirely to the consecration of the God of heaven, who created you, who made a purchase for your soul with His life, who hung between heaven and earth, while the God of heaven looked on his Father, with it all consecrated to Him.

Because let me tell you what this morning, All that God possesses, and all that Christ possesses, is dedicated to your salvation and to my salvation.

Jesus spared nothing, not even his own life, that we might be redeemed.

The Joy of Discipleship

Transcript

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