<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Anthony Baca

Walking with Jesus

If you're not involved in something, anything, I would encourage you, consider it, give it a try.

I dedicated a good decade of my life to literature evangelism in the form of cold-portering, going door-to-door, sharing books with people, and I can tell you, literature evangelism is powerful stuff.

I still remember the very first time I gave a Bible study.

It's not even part of the sermon, I know, but I just got excited with what he was sharing, so I wanna encourage you, If you didn't consider it, at least maybe more so, but I remember the first Bible study, I was giving it to this family and I didn't know anything.

I knew Daniel 2, that's literally all I knew.

I was like, Daniel 2, I know Daniel 2, I could save the world with Daniel 2, it's all I need.

And I'm giving a Bible study And I forgot what I was even trying to share with the family.

I was talking about fire from heaven, and I was talking about Cain and Abel, and I got all confused in my words, and I was all excited and sharing the story with them.

And all of a sudden, they look in the Bible and said, but it doesn't say that.

I said, no, no, no, no, I know that fire consumed that offering.

And I'm looking and I'm like, I went and sat down on this chair and I was so befuddled, I was so confused.

I knew I shouldn't have given a Bible study.

They're thinking some powerful point's coming, you know, and I'm just lost.

And then the teenager was like, yo, do you need help?

Well, I showed them how to study the Bible.

So they all pull out their little crude concordances that they had given them and they looked up fire.

Now we're looking at every verse with fire in the Bible.

And then he's like, oh is it like Elijah?

And I was like, oh perfect, Elijah, fire came.

And I went home and I was like, how did that happen, Lord?

Anyways, Patriots and Prophets said, fire consumed the offering, not the, anyways.

So I got it, it was correct, but it just didn't say it in Genesis.

And you know, I thought to myself, What am I doing teaching the Bible when I really don't know anything?

Most people got baptized and came to the Lord, amen?

I learned, they learned, we learned together.

It was 1 of the best decisions I made and it started a trajectory of ministry I could have never imagined.

So just to finish that plug, if you didn't, if you're not involved with any ministry, I would consider either of those options.

Teaching the Bible to someone, sharing literature with people, it is beyond powerful.

Today's message is entitled, Walking with Jesus.

We're gonna talk about walking with Jesus today.

And The reason why I want to share this particular message is life experience.

I've noticed things in the Christian journey.

I've noticed things in my personal experience.

I've noticed things in working with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ That leads me to want to share this message, something that's become refreshed in my mind and more near and dear to me all over again.

Anything you do in life, have you noticed when you start out doing it, it's exciting?

Like the first time you get hired at that new job and you're like this is exciting or when you make that commitment to start working out, you know what I'm talking about.

You got the Lululemon on, you just you know you got your really nice workout clothes, You show up in the gym and you're just like you and you see like that poster and you're like that's me in like the end of the year that's like the goal right there and you're looking in the mirror and you're running and you know and you're excited and when you you ran 6 miles you know the 6 miles in the hour, the whole thing, you know, you get on the, you maybe run for 6, and you're like, ah, it was easy.

But as time progresses, Things kind of change, don't they?

Like that education you started pursuing when you showed up on campus the first day and you just breathed in the building, you're like, man, I love the smell of this room.

Like this is where I'm becoming a doctor or a dentist or a mechanic, whatever it is, right?

And then like 2 semesters in, 8 exams in, you come in and you smell that room, and you're like, dude, I can't stand this place anymore.

Like, it's like, you know, it's, My classroom's literally right next door.

After going to the gym for 3 or 4 months, if you make it that long, all of a sudden, you're looking in the mirror and you're running and you're looking and you're sweating and you're tired and you're like, whose idea was it to do 6 miles every time I come to this place?

And then all of a sudden that original commitment starts to kind of narrow itself out, kind of dwindles, you know?

You know, I don't really need to do 6 miles, I just kind of need to do like 1 mile, right?

You show up, you get in 10, 15 minutes, and you're done, and you know, you take the selfie and you leave, and you're done, you're good.

But then as time progresses, it kind of narrows more.

You know when you first start at school, that program, everything that's extra, you want to read it.

Every opportunity, you want to embrace it.

And then after a couple semesters in, you know, or a couple blocks in, depending on what you're doing.

All of a sudden it's like, man, what do I gotta do to pass?

Like, just, what do I gotta learn to pass?

I wanna do that, I wanna pass, I wanna sleep.

And all of a sudden we start to narrow out the commitment starts to do this until eventually it's well I mean if I show up at the gym you know that's like an atomic habit.

You guys it's like a very popular book right now right?

That's an atomic habit you know but we started out like this all of a sudden like wait wait wait.

It's like I just got to show up at the gym.

You walk in, you're like, OK, I showed up.

And the commitment dwindles and dwindles and dwindles.

And then eventually, you enter into the steady state experience, where it's just kind of that bare minimum that gets by.

It's like, you know, once a day after a particular meal, probably the heaviest meal, I'm gonna go walk around the block.

I don't need to go to the gym, cancel the membership, we're done for the year.

Back to Menu

Walking with Jesus

Transcript

Sponsor

Recorded

Related

Being True to Our Trust

What the Law Could Not Do

50m

Why Are We Still Here?

55m

The Power of Perspective

Two Covenants

57m

Ron Clouzet: The Greatest Thing in the World

The Greatest Power in the World: The Nature of Faith

1h

Power of the Everlasting Gospel

The Covenant’s Promised Blessings!

1h 18m

Unlock Revelation

How to Have a New Start- Part 3: Faith or Feeling

36m

The Most Helpful Method: Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

59m

Don’t Lose Heart

50m

Living by Faith

1h 7m

Plenary Meetings

Reading God’s Requirements

45m

Certainty in Uncertain Times

A Transforming Touch

49m

Where Is Your Faith?

1h

Sound Doctrine