Michigan Camp Meeting 2017

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Christianity 24-7

Jed Genson

Jodi Genson

1. Buried Alive

Our Lord Jesus, Father, you've given up so much for each 1 of us individually in this room.

You know where we've been, where we've come from.

And we pray, dear God, that this morning, as we share some thoughts, that your Holy Spirit will bring it home to us, not collectively as a class, but individually.

Thank you, Lord, for your love and the gospel, the everlasting gospel.

Okay, it's been just my experience from a number of years, the last 20 years, of sharing with people, traveling around, teaching in an academy for 23 years, that a lot of our folks struggle with some of the basic understandings of how to walk with Jesus.

And because of that, Some of our kids are outside the church because we've misrepresented Christ to them.

And then there was some, the ones that stayed in the church were very legalistic and they're trying to do everything exactly right so that God will like them.

And that's not really the best way to look at it.

And so some of the things I share with you, we're going to talk about, the first part, is the basic things about how to be born again.

And when we do evangelism, and I've been involved in that since 1964 in eighth grade.

So I've been around evangelism for several years, but when we do evangelism we give people a lot of information.

And it's all good information, but the information does not necessarily convert us.

Are you, I see some heads shaking, you got it?

Okay, and so I'm gonna share a little bit about where I came from, my background.

So I have some practical things that are not theology.

I really had a burden for my church because I've seen so many wild and crazy things happen within the church.

And we're supposed to represent Jesus Christ to the world.

I was at an elders meeting 1, or actually a church board meeting 1 time with 3 retired pastors and then the new pastor and the retired pastors didn't appreciate what the new pastor was teaching so they got up in the meeting they were actually going to hit him.

So I said, hey you guys, whoa, what are you doing here?

You know we're like Christians, aren't we?

But I've seen a number of these types of things happening at Board Meeting's prayer meeting, and right after we got through with a beautiful prayer meeting, then the pastor and 1 of the members get up in confrontation to deal with each other, and my wife had to jump in between them.

Okay, So this is not what God's looking for.

He's looking for his character to be reproduced in our lives.

So this statement here, the new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world.

This is a reason why there are so many perplexities in the church.

Have you ever been on a building committee or anything like that, building a structure for the church?

And when it takes 4 or 5 years to build a 20 by 30 little addition onto the building, but no 1 can agree on the siding or the roofing and are they gonna take their funds out.

We don't do it my way, I'm not going to support you.

And in some cases, that's why we're so slow with spreading the gospel, because you gotta do it my way, right?

It's found in the Ministry of Healing, and it's Christ's method alone will give true success.

My wife and I have tried Christ's method alone for 5 years, and we had 77 baptisms and professional faith coming in just by using Christ's method.

Can someone tell me what Christ's method is?

Okay, he took care of their needs, he won their confidence, and after he won their confidence, then he said, follow me.

We got some results, but Christ Smith alone really works if we just do that.

So it's a rare experience, this new birth, and I've seen that in real life, and I went through it myself.

I went through the 27 fundamental doctrines 3 different times.

Never born again, never died to myself, never even understood, never even explained it to me that way.

So many so many who have assumed the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy.

They've been baptized but they were buried alive.

Self did not die and therefore they did not raise to newness of life.

And that's the problem that we're having right now.

We have a lot of folks that we're just getting baptisms, get them in the tank, get them in the tank, but Getting in the tank does not change a person's life.

And as we spend time with him, we allow him to come in and live through us.

Now we become happy, holy, full of joy, peace, all these types of things.

We're still, you know, we still struggle with self-centeredness and tempers and all this other stuff, but it's because of Jesus Christ dwelling in us.

It's the same way with you and that's what God wants to do in your life.

If you brought your scripture or something.

Now We're all pretty familiar with John chapter 3, aren't we?

The reason I wanna start with John chapter 3 because in the Desire of Ages, this is why I said there was no other subsequent occasion where Jesus was so clear on how the gospel works.

So, before I say that, let me ask you a question.

Can someone tell me about Nicodemus, who he was or what his education was, anything like that?

And so he comes to Jesus by night because he wants to enter into a theological discussion to Christ about salvation.

And so Jesus tells him something that Nicodemus didn't really appreciate.

And you're telling me I need to be born again?

2. The Long and Winding Road

Our Father, it's such a joy to have you in our lives.

You know, Lord, we've lived on the other side of this Christian experience, some of us, and it's so much more fun on this side, walking with you, listening to you, being led by you, being blessed by you.

And so, Lord, as we share today this thing we call the long and winding road, it's a process, a daily process now, dying to our old ways, our old life, and becoming new creatures every day.

By way of a little bit of a review, I won't do too much here, but I read a statement about the problem that we have within the churches that many people have been baptized but they never died to themselves.

And so that's why we have fighting and board meetings.

And that's why it takes us 8 or 10 years to make a decision what kind of addition or what kind of carpet to put in the church.

I built churches and a gymnasium and school and We start out as brothers and sisters and then some of us end up as enemies, and that's not right.

I talked about my own experience of being baptized in the Symethianos Church at 14 years old.

And as a little kid, I slept out in the car in front of the tavern, waiting for them to come out.

She gave her life to Jesus Christ, and her whole life changed.

And so I got baptized with her at 14 years old with everybody, all the other 14 year olds, because everyone else did it.

Didn't know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, but I knew the 2300 days.

I was taught in seventh grade about 666 and all that stuff.

I knew that thing, but I didn't know Jesus, and I didn't know how to walk, didn't know how to give Him my will.

Wasn't a lot of fun, it was boring, a lot of rules.

Come on in, just doing a little review from yesterday.

And so at the age of 19, I got drafted into military, and then I came down in a lottery and I saw it got postponed until 1970 when I went into the military.

Was not converted, didn't know Christ as my Savior, got a letter from my old pastor saying, you know, you should probably get re-baptized so if you get killed in Vietnam, you can go to heaven.

And so I said, well, that's probably not a bad idea.

And so when I came home from on break, on leave, he caught up with me and said, hey, you said you were gonna get baptized.

Well, I came down on orders and I ended up in Washington working in an army hospital, military hospital.

I thought, well, I'm not going to numb, so I don't need to get baptized, so I'm not gonna get killed.

But he came and he started hounding me and said, you promised you'd do that.

And I think he was just trying to get numbers up.

And so I went to the 27 fundamental doctrines for the second time.

Knew nothing about dying to self and putting your will on the will of Jesus Christ and allowing Him to live in you and think through you.

I didn't know any of those things, but I got rebaptized.

And so for about 3 months, I fought the good fight of faith in my own strength.

The steps of Christ are dry formality, without the love of Jesus.

The devil knows where we are all the time.

So an old academy friend came by while I'm in the army, and he was in the army, and he wanted to go out cruising around 1 night.

And so we went out there, driving around Tacoma, and he had a 1970 Camaro with dual everything on it.

But first thing he asked me, do you want a cigarette?

Now I had quit smoking 3 months before because I got baptized, but I never gave that over to Jesus.

And of course, after that, after you clean the temple, then 7 more demons come in if you don't put Jesus in there, right?

So I went back smoking dope, drinking, and acting wild and crazy, until I was 27 years old, at the end of the road, don't want to live anymore, I've done everything in life there is to do.

And so I went, a little voice came into my mind and said, you know, you need to go home and see your mother.

And so I did that, she got me on a vegetarian diet, plenty of water, exercise, fresh air, all those 8 laws of health, and then my health restored, my mind came back, and I started seeking God on my own.

Not because the pastor told me to, or my mom or grandma or whatever, but I saw my need for Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 29.13 It says, you'll seek me and you'll find me when you do what?

When I surrendered my life and my will to Jesus Christ, now he starts working in me.

I used a word yesterday, I defined a term, a big term that we use, we throw around all the time.

A justification is very simple, It's not a difficult concept.

It's basically when Jesus comes into your life, you give your life to Him in an instant, you are justified by faith in His life because of His life.

Okay, so when the Father looks at you, He sees Jesus' perfect obedience in your behalf.

Okay, that's not hard to understand, except in a daily matter.

You got to remind yourself, because of Jesus' righteousness and His love for me, I am made righteous, just as if I'd never sinned.

Just as, yes, yeah, no matter what you've done, if you surrender your life totally to Jesus Christ, in fact, there's a statement I have, it's out of Reverend Harold, it says, the very moment that you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you have his righteousness.

Now for some of us that's really hard to believe, but it's the truth.

Okay, but now today, now we have to get up and walk.

Yesterday you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you were clothed with his righteousness, and now you got up and you started walking.

3. How to Meet the Enemy

Father, we thank you so much for this beautiful day, and thank you that it's not raining.

And we just pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit will rain down upon us in this room today, as we talk about a very important subject, 1 that Satan hates.

I pray for each person here that your Holy Spirit will speak to their hearts and that you'll be with me, Lord, and anoint me, my lips today, in Jesus' name, amen.

Now, I know that you've probably have read the handbook, you know, it talks about all the seminars.

And I mentioned that the description is all wrong, what you read, because we switched and changed on you.

So today is all about how to meet the enemy.

I mean, the men are probably aware, but you ladies may not be aware that when 2 rival football teams meet on the field, before they get there, what do they do?

They spend time watching the previous games, and, okay, I know what he's going to do, and I know what he's going to do.

We are in the middle of a battle between Christ and Satan.

This world is coming to an end and Satan wants to take down everyone he can.

But God has given us in his Word ways that we can determine the plays of the enemy, of the rival, so that we will know how we can best avoid his attack.

Bible says that we are to be sober and vigilant because our adversary, who's the adversary?

The devil as a roaring lion seeks to devour Whomever he will.

Now I looked up, I like to do word searches and find out what these words mean.

So when we think be sober, we think don't be drunk.

It literally means, and why I use this for my stress management seminar, I am calm.

I have my wits about me." In other words, I'm sharp.

So when you read that text, he's saying, be sharp.

Have your wits about you because your adversary, the devil, is as a roaring lion and that roar from a lion is that he's victorious and we don't want him to be victorious, right?

When in the very beginning when God created this beautiful world and He put Adam and Eve in the garden, they were clothed in light, the Bible says.

That light represented the righteousness of God, His holiness, His perfectness.

And then of course, they didn't have the 10 Commandments, but I just put that up there to represent obedience.

Remember God told them that they could eat of all the trees of the garden except for 1.

You can have all the trees except for this 1 over here.

And had Adam and Eve been obedient, guess what?

They were tripped up, and they took of the fruit, and they ate, and they lost.

They lost what God had given them in the beginning.

And so God sent Jesus Christ here to restore in man what was lost in Eden, to give us back what we lost.

He was the perfect, perfect sacrifice for us.

In all points, even as we are tempted, yet without sin, to give us back that righteousness.

So, as Jed was talking here the last 2 days, he mentioned that as we come to Christ, now the love of God draws us to Him, right?

Jeremiah says it's the love of God that draws us to God.

And as we step toward Him, He says, yes, yes, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming, then as sinful as our lives may have been, we are accounted righteous.

If you give your life to Him and as you accept Him as your Savior and Lord, I will add, then sinful as your life may have been, you are counted righteous.

Christ's righteousness takes the place of your unrighteousness.

Christ takes her unrighteousness and gives her his righteousness.

How much of her unrighteousness does she have?

They do not believe that they have been forgiven and cleansed and that they are now righteous.

That word righteousness is a scary word, but it's Christ's righteousness because we have no righteousness of our own.

It says, Christ's righteous character stands in place of your character and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.

And we're going to keep drilling you and brainwashing you with this statement.

When you are justified, you are just as if you had not sinned.

I know you have to let that sink in because we're not used to that.

Philippians 1-6 says, it is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

When you receive Christ, you receive the mind of Christ.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a faulty creation.

And plus this let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 1.6.

You'll find that I'm different than he is.

When I receive Christ, when I take a step forward and I receive him and sinful as my life was, I am now righteous.

Now, I'm walking with Jesus, step by step.

4. Finding the Freedom

Father in heaven, Lord, I just thank you again for this opportunity to be here with these folks and I pray, Lord, that today the message will be very clear and helpful to them.

Lord, we're not any big evangelists like Pastor Batchelor or Pastor Bradshaw, but you've given us an experience and you told us to go and share What great things you have done for us and that's why we are here and so we give you all the glory for any good that comes from these seminars in Jesus name Okay Finding true freedom now those of you who have the cup with a little bit of water, I want you to do this with it.

I want you to put it in your hand like this.

And then I want you to hold it out extended like this.

Hold it out extended, Okay, until I tell you to put it down.

You may have somebody there close by that you might say, hey, help me up.

They might see that your arm is drooping.

You can go ahead and lift it up for just a little bit.

Okay, Portland, Oregon is where I grew up for the first 9 years of my life.

And Portland, Oregon is known as the Rose City.

They have a rose garden that has over 7, 700 roses with 550 different varieties.

I mean, this is just a little taste of it, but these roses, and talk about fragrant.

I mean, you can't walk through this rose garden, how you guys doing, okay, Without getting some of that beautiful fragrance.

And this is special, they have this festival every year in June, middle of June, when the roses are all in bloom.

And hundreds of People come from all over the Northwest to Portland, Oregon for this Rose Festival.

Portland is also 1 of the few cities that are privileged to be 1 of the ports of call for the U.S.

Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Canadian Royal Navy.

And so during this Rose Festival time, you'll see these frigates that come in here, and they park their vessels right there on the Willamette River.

And that's where the boardwalk right there, you see to the left of number 41.

And beyond that, they have an amusement park with all kinds of rides, and they have wonderful things, and People just love to go down there.

There's a huge parade that happens, and that's where I was introduced to the Rose Festival, when my mom took us kids down there to watch the parade.

Well, my mother, when she was 16, she and her friend felt it was their civil duty to go down to these ships and kiss the sailors goodbye when they would depart.

And when 1 sailor kind of captured her eye.

He was handsome, he had blue eyes and freckles and auburn hair and he came from Arkansas so he had that real strong accent.

And they formed a relationship, and they were married.

This is my dad and my mom on their wedding day.

Now, I don't know what happened with their relationship, but they didn't stay together.

They were divorced when my mother was pregnant with me.

He knew about him, but he didn't know about me.

This is Danny and Jodi, back in the olden days.

Now I'm not just giving you a vacation slideshow here.

Danny was about 18 months older than I, And we reacted differently to the absence of our father.

Danny turned, in his early teens, like 12, 13, and 14, he started experimenting with tobacco.

Then was pot, and then was the harder things, and he became an alcoholic and a drug addict.

I didn't do those things, but all of my insecurities were inside.

Danny was an external internal mess, if that's possible.

Series

Christianity 24-7

4. Finding the Freedom

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Restoring the Home

04 The Power of Forgiveness

1h 10m

To Forgive Is To Benefit

36m

Repent the Right Way and Be Forgiven

47m

AMEN 2009 Plenary Sessions

God’s Healing Power

51m

Forgiveness: The Power of Letting Go

38m

Health Evangelism

The Hour of Victory- Part 2

1h 54m

Restoration 2023

Pigs, Pot, and Vodka – Why You Can

1h 2m

WYC 2012 Breakout Sessions

Overcoming As Christ Overcame, Part 1

1h

Forgive: The Power of Letting Go

38m

The Day of Atonement

01 God’s Love Forgives

53m

Marriage Heart to Heart

Forgiveness

54m

Broken to Breakthrough

1h 6m

Sound Doctrine