Turning Point - David Jeremiah

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
How do you become the person God wants you to be?
The answers aren't in self help books or seminars. All
the information you need is in God's Word. Today on
turning point, doctor David Jeremiah returns to Romans chapter twelve
for more insights and instruction on building godly characteristics into
your life to introduce the conclusion of his thought provoking

(00:28):
message stay strong.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Here's David.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
You know, the Bible is such an interesting book because
throughout the Bible, from the beginning to the end, there
are certain places where you just get really strong information
that's meant to help you know exactly what to do.
Strong application from the Bible for your life, and Romans
twelve is like that. Romans twelve nine through sixteen tells

(00:54):
you how to be the person you were meant to
be and gives you instruction as to how you live
your life in this world as we wait for the
return of Christ. Here's how we're to live during these days.
And I don't think there's ever been a time when
we've needed this information more than we do now, because
we need people to be strong Christians, to stand up

(01:15):
for what they believe and be strong in the way
they live and reflect Jesus Christ every day. These words
from Romans twelve help us do that, and we'll get
back to them in just a moment. As we continue
our discussion of what it means to stay strong for Christ,
I want to tell you that during this month we
have been making available to you a very beautiful book

(01:36):
called Vanished. It's the story of the rapture and how
one man was caught up in it along with everything
that was happening in his life. His name is Haggarty
and he's not a Christian, but he's struggling with what
it means to deal with life, and he has people
around him who keep dropping these little hints in his
life about eternity and the rapture and the things to come.

(02:00):
It's an intriguing story and I think you'll get caught
up in it when you begin to read it. And
I'd like to send the book to you as my
way of saying thank you for your gift to Turning
Point during the month of July. Simply ask for the
book Vanished when you send your gift, and it'll be
on its way to you. Here's part two of Stay
Strong here on Turning Point.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
So our life is to be marked by a compassionate
love for God's people, by clear standards of morality, abhor evil,
cling to that which is good, by contagious enthusiasm outwardly,
inwardly and upwardly, and now notice, by a courageous faith

(02:42):
under fire verse twelve. These are interesting words for the
day in which we live, because in this generation more
people have been martyred for their faith than in all
of the generations up to this one. And that surprises
a lot of people, because we've all heard about Fox's
Book of Martyrs, and all of the martyrs that died
in the early days of the church listened to me.

(03:04):
In this generation, the one in which we live, more
people have died in our generation for their faith in
Jesus Christ than all of the rest of the martyrs
from the beginning of history, more people. And the reason
we don't know that is because it has not yet
crossed our border and touched us a lot in our
own country. But how many of you can almost see
it coming, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that probably before

(03:28):
most of us go to Heaven, we will have to
take a stand for our faith in a much more
pronounced way than we ever have before. So we best
learn how to have courageous faith under fire. Now Paul
tells us three things here. He says, first of all,
learn how to praise God when you're in that situation
marked by the way we praise rejoicing in hope. Now

(03:51):
you say, how can you rejoice when you're going through pressure?
Listen to the word rejoicing, not in my circumstances, but
rejoicing in hope. When you're a Christian and you're under pressure,
the thing that keeps you going is you know this
isn't going to last forever, and you're going to have
a time of glory and rejoicing in heaven. You rejoice

(04:13):
in hope. I've always loved this passage in the forty
second and forty third Psalm, where David is trying to
deal with the discouragement that's in his life. His own
son has betrayed him. David sitting on the outside looking
at this with terrible anguish in his heart. And then

(04:34):
we read his words and he says, why art thou
cast down, O my soul, hope Thou in God? What
did David do? Well? I always like to think about it.
This we had a little talk with himself. Do you
ever have a little talk with yourself? He said, self,
Why are you cast down? Hope thou in God? How

(04:58):
many of you know that our hope is ultimately in God.
No matter what's going on around us, no matter what
kind of disappointment or betrayal or pressure we live under.
The one thing we bring to the table that most
people will never understand that in the midst of it all,
we have our hope in God. So it's not only
how we praise God and how we persevere in the pressure,
but notice, thirdly, it's how we pray. He talks here

(05:21):
about praying. He says we're to pray steadfastly and continuously.
And this little phrase is interesting because it means to
be devoted to or to continue to pray, And it's
a translation of a Greek word which means to be
strong in the direction of something. It carries with it
the idea of being steadfast and unwavering no matter where

(05:45):
you are, where you're sitting. If you're a Christian, here's
what I know. When you have a problem, you pray.
You may not pray any other time, but if you
have a problem, you pray. That's what we do, isn't it. Oh? God,
help everybody prays when they have problems. Now, if you
happen to be somebody who prays normally, regularly, routinely, here's

(06:08):
something else. I know. When you have problems, you pray
differently than when you normally pray. I know that I
learned how to pray in a different way when I
had cancer. You don't just pray, you cry out to God.
How many of you know if there's praying and then
there's praying. I know that God wants us to learn

(06:28):
how to bring the kind of intensity that we have
when we're under pressure into our regular, normal life. David
Platt's a pastor of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. God
has put his hand on this man's life, and he
has a different kind of church. And I have to
tell you, most of the time, when I read a
good book, I say, you know, that was really a
great book. I couldn't put it down. Well, this one,

(06:49):
I couldn't wait to put it down. I wanted to
get it out of my life and off my shelf
and out of my mind. Because the title of this
book is radical, Taking your Faith back from the American dream,
and the whole book is about how we as Christians
have got caught up in the American dream to the
extent that we've no longer able to do the things

(07:10):
that God has called us to do. And he talks
about all of us. And if you ever see this
book in a bookstore, you want to get it. But
it's a very discomforting book. It'll make you think, and
then it'll make you think you'd have been better off
if you hadn't got the book in the first place.
But he has some marvelous reminders to us. And one

(07:30):
of the chapters he talks about an experience he had
when he went to the mission field, and this was
an Asian mission field which was under pressure. Let me
just read to you a little paragraph or two out
of this book. He's in a prayer meeting on the
mission field. Listen, imagine all the blinds closed on the

(07:51):
windows of a dimly lit room. Twenty leaders from different
churches in the area sat in a circle on the
floor with their bibles open. Some of them had sweat
on their foreheads after walking for miles to get there.
Others were dirty from the dust in the villages from
which they had set out on bikes early that morning.
They had gathered in secret. They had intentionally come to

(08:16):
this place at different times throughout the morning so as
not to draw attention to the meeting that was occurring.
You see, they lived in the country in Asia where
it is illegal for them together like this, and if
they are caught, they could lose their land, their jobs,
their families, or their lives. The author of the book,
David Platt, said, I listened as they began sharing stories

(08:37):
of what God was doing in their churches. One man
sat in the corner. He had a big frame, and
he served as the security guy, so to speak. And
whenever a knock would come on the door, a noise
was heard outside a window, everyone in the room would freeze,
and this brother would go and make sure everything was okay.
Then he would come back. And on this occasion he

(08:59):
began to share about the dangers his church members were facing,
and tears welled up in his eyes, and he said,
I am hurting and I need God's grace to lead
my church through these attacks. A woman on the other
side of the room spoke up next. Some of the
members of my church were recently confronted by government officials
she continued, and they threatened their families, saying that if
they did not stop gathering to study the Bible, they

(09:21):
were going to lose everything they had. She asked for prayer, saying,
I need to know how to lead my church to
follow Christ, even it would cost them everything. He said.
As I looked around the room, I saw that everyone
was now in tears. The struggles expressed by this brother
and sister were not isolated. They all looked at one
another and said, we need to pray. Immediately, they went

(09:45):
to their knees, and with their faces on the ground,
they began to cry out to God. Their prayers were
marked less by grandiose theological language and more by heartfelt
praise and Oh God, thank you for loving us. Oh God,
we need you. Jesus. We give our lives to you,

(10:08):
and for you, Jesus, we trust in you. They audibly
wept before God as one leader after another prayed. After
about an hour, the room drew to a silence, and
they rose from the floor, humbled by what I had
just been a part of. I saw puddles of tears

(10:29):
in a circle where they had been on their knees.
I guess you would never forget that, would you ever?
That's the kind of prayer that people pray when they're
under pressure. That's the kind of prayer that goes on
all over this world, in places other than in our nation,
when people have to put their life on the line

(10:51):
for their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul says, you need
to learn how to pray under pressure. One day you'll
need it. You will need to learn how to pray
under pressure. And then he says, our life needs to
be marked by a compassionate love for God's people, by
clear standards of morality, by contagious enthusiasm for God, by

(11:15):
a courageous faith under fire, and by a confirming ministry
to others. No, no, this once again, here we are
in a trilogy these little triple phrases that he uses.
First of all, we are to be marked by generosity
distributing to the needs of the saints. The Bible says
that those who are rich are not to be haughty

(11:37):
in our riches. But it says we are to do good,
that we might be rich in good works, ready to give,
and willing to serve. The Bible says that if we
have what God has given to most of us, The
responsibility we have is to take that and use it
and to do good works with it and help other people.
Notice not only the ministry of generosity, but next is

(11:58):
the ministry of hospital verse thirteen. And I love this
because this is not just hospitality. It says pursuing hospitality.
How many of you know that hospitality is something we
normally think of as well. If somebody needs a place
to eat and they let me know, I'll open my
house for them. No, no, no, Pulses, that's wrong, Pulses.
You should go look for people that you can bring home.

(12:20):
Pursue hospitality, make it something that you are proactive about.
I love the passage in Hebrews thirteen that says we
need not to forget to entertain strangers because we might
be entertaining unknowingly an angel. Did you ever read that.
Here's exactly what it says, do not forget to entertain strangers,
for by doing so, some have unwittingly entertained angels. So

(12:46):
here it is, folks, take an angel to lunch. I
know some of you guys have been hoping you could
do that, but I just want you to know this
is what we should do. We should be outward by
all standards of the scripture. Now that brings us to
the final trilogy, which is made up of a bunch
of other little things. But let me just go through
this quickly. The ministry of generosity, the ministry of hospitality.

(13:08):
Here's the third one. The ministry of mutuality. What is mutuality.
It's the things we do back and forth with one
another mutually. We do this. Now, watch, bless those who
persecute you. You got to be kidding me. No, that's
what it says. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and
do not curse. And if you think that's bad, let

(13:28):
me make it even worse. The word bless is the
word from which we get our word. Eulogize. Eulogize those
who curse you. Well, you say, I'll be glad to
do that if it's at their funeral. No, that's not
what God is talking about. Eulogize those who curse you.
That means that, as Christians, we just run against the grain.

(13:51):
Somebody says something bad to us. We try to think
of the good thing we can say about them. Notice,
rejoice with those who rejoice. That's as hard as blessing
them those who curses. For some of us, we can't
get to the point where we can rejoice with somebody.
Somebody in your company gets a promotion, maybe it's one
you thought you should get. What do you do. Do
you go and put your arm around him and say, boy,

(14:12):
I'm so thankful that God has cared for you in
this way. I rejoice with you in this promotion. No,
we usually go sulk and we create an enemy out
of the person who took the position we thought we deserved.
And the Bible says, no, if you're going to have
the kind of difference making character that you desire in
this world that is looking for answers, here are some

(14:33):
of the things that will set you apart. Bless those
who persecute you. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and then
weep with those who weep. I'm so thankful for your
compassion and your love. Something happens to somebody and you
just gather around like a bunch of people that want
to put your arms around in help. Now, one last

(14:54):
thing before we close our bibles. Life marked by compassionate
love for God's people, A life marked by clear standards
of morality, A life marked by contagious enthusiasm for God,
a life marked by courageous faith under fire, a life
marked by confirming ministry to others. And here's the last one,

(15:14):
a life marked by a continuing pursuit of unity. Romans
twelve sixteen is all about unity. Be of the same
mind toward one another. That's the exhortation. Here's the example.
Don't set your mind on high things, but associate with
the humble. Don't be an elitist. Do you know what
an elitist is? Somebody who just hangs out with the elite.

(15:38):
The Bible says, don't set your mind on high things,
but associate with the humble. Don't be class conscious. Don't
say they don't have as much as I have, so
I won't eat with them. Or on the other hand,
don't say they have more than I have, so I
won't eat with them. In the eyes of God, none
of that matters. We're a body of christ members and

(15:58):
we're not to be class conscious. We're not to be
caught up in the things that run the world. We're
not to let the world pour us into its mold.
We are not to allow the class consciousness of the
world to enter into the Church, because it destroys unity.
How many of you know that the Lord Jesus loved
to be with ordinary people. He always was with ordinary people.

(16:19):
Every time you see Jesus, he's hanging out with somebody
that people thought he shouldn't be hanging out with, showing
us an example. I always loved the passage in third John,
verse nine. Don't ask me what chapter, there's only one.
Third John nine says I wrote to the church. But theotrophes,
who loves to have the pre eminence among them, does
not receive us. Do you ever know anybody that loves

(16:42):
to have the pre eminence? Now the exhortation the unity
is there. The example of it's there. Here's the expression
of it. The very last part of the text. Do
not be wise in your own opinion, doesn't say don't
be wise. Everybody should try to be wise. But here's
the difference. Don't be wise in your own opinion. Don't

(17:03):
be the only person who thinks you're wise. They call
those people wise acres have ever been around somebody that's
impressed with their wisdom. They don't want to tell you
all the things they do and all they know. The
Bible says, don't be caught up in who you are.

(17:23):
You know how important this is. Class Let me tell
you something. Eight times, including this passage, in the Bible,
we are told, do not be wise in your own eyes.
Say that with me. Do not be wise in your
own eyes. Don't be conceited in your own eyes. Why
is that because if you're wise in your own eyes,
you never have any room left for the wisdom God

(17:44):
wants to impart to you. If you're so full of
who you are and what you know, God can ever
get your attention and fill you with the wisdom that
really counts. So if you take this passage and I
know this is a lot of sort of seemingly disconnected phrases,
but they all fit together to give us a picture
of the kind of life that God wants us to
have that He can use in a way that makes

(18:06):
a difference in the world helping others be strong. And
what we have learned in this passage is that we
can have a life during these days that is marked
by compassionate love for God's people, clear standards of morality,
contagious enthusiasm for God, courageous faith under fire, a confirming

(18:27):
ministry to other people, and a continuing pursuit of unity.
When we allow those things to, little by a little
take control of our lives, we become the kind of
people God wants us to be. And did you know
that God has given us everything in this book to
help us be this way. If I thought I was
on some kind of a self help journey to make
all this happen, I would be desperate. But the Bible

(18:47):
tells me. When I open this book and I commit
myself to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and I say,
Holy Spirit, build these characters in my life. These characteristics
show me the path of righteousness that I can and
walk in it. I want you to know something, dear friends.
This Bible has everything in it you need to become
the kind of person we talked about. You don't need

(19:08):
a self help group, as important as they may be
in some situations. You don't need anything at all except
this book, the Holy Spirit, and your attention. You can
become the person God wants you to be. As we
embrace these words, we are reminded that God has equipped
us and given us the strength that we need. That

(19:28):
is the message of Romans twelve, and that is the
job that we have in this age of skepticism toward
the Church, antagonism toward Christ. This may be the only
way we will be able to reach our generation. It
is no longer just by our words, it is no
longer just by our lips, but it's by our life.

(19:50):
A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner and
it was cold, and people were in and out of
the cold, but he was standing out in the cold
trying to sell his newspapers. Finally, he pretty much quit
selling papers because he was so cold he couldn't do it,
and sort of in desperation, he walked up to a
policeman and he said, mister, you wouldn't happen to know
where a poor boy could find a warm place to
sleep tonight, would you? You see? He says, I sleep

(20:14):
in a box around the corner, and it's really cold
there tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm
place to stay. The policeman looked down at the little
boy and he said, son, he said, I tell you what.
You go down the street. You see that big white
house down at the corner. He said, yes, sir, he says,
you go knock on the door, and when they opened
the door, you just say, John three point sixteen, and

(20:36):
they'll let you in. Man. He didn't know what that meant,
but he thought, if it'ld get me a warm night,
let's do it. So he did, and he walked up
the steps and he knocked on the door, and a
grandmotherly kind of woman came to the door, and she
looked down at him, and he said, John three point sixteen.
She says, we'll come right in, son, Just come right in.

(20:57):
She took him in and sat him down in a
split bottom rocker in front of a huge fireplace, and
she went off and the little boy sat there for
a while and thought to himself, John three sixteen, man,
I don't know what that means, but it sure does
make a cold boy warm. The lady came back a
little bit later, and she said, son, have you had
anything to eat? He said, ma'am, I haven't eaten in

(21:18):
three days. Boy, I sure could use some food. She says, well,
you just come with me. She took him into the
kitchen and sat him down before a table filled with
wonderful food, and he ate until he couldn't eat anymore.
And he sat there and thought to himself, John three sixteen, man,
I don't get this, but it sure does make a
hungry boy full. After dinner, the lady took the young

(21:38):
boy into the room, tucked him into a big old
feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed
him good night, turned out the lights, and as he
lay there in the darkness, he looked out the window.
It was just enough light for him to see the
snow coming down on that cold night, and he thought
to himself, John three point sixteen, Wow, I don't understand it,

(21:59):
but it sure does make a tired boy's sleep. And
next morning, the lady came back up took him down
to the same old big table, once again full of
food for breakfast. They ate breakfast, and then they went
back into the living room and he sat down in
front of that fireplace, and the woman picked up an
old bible that was lying there on the table, and
she gently looked down at the little boy, and she

(22:20):
asked him if he understood what John three sixteen was.
He said, no, ma'am, I sure don't. First time I
ever heard it was when I asked that policeman he
told me how to use it. She opened the bible
to John three sixteen, and she began to explain to
him about Jesus, and right there in front of the fireplace,
that little boy gave his heart and life to Jesus Christ.

(22:43):
And he sat there and he thought John three sixteen.
I don't understand it, but it sure does make a
lost boy saved. You know, I don't understand it either,
how God was willing to send his son to die
for me, How Jesus would agree to do such a thing.

(23:04):
I don't understand the agony of the Father and every
angel in heaven as they watch Jesus suffer and die.
I don't understand the intense love for me that kept
Jesus on the cross until the very end. I don't
understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

(23:25):
For God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish but have ever lasting life. I kind of like
the way that old grandmother preached that message. And ladies
and gentlemen, that's how we have to preach the message

(23:47):
today ourselves. I can't do all the preaching. You have
to help me.

Speaker 3 (23:56):
And of course we preach with our lives, We preach
with our lips, we preach with our testimony, and we
preach when we go through tests. Somebody once said, if
you have a testimony, it's because you've been through a test.
How has God helped you in that time? And I
want to encourage you. We've gone this long study in

(24:17):
the Book of Revelation, going to Heaven to be with
the Lord. We've seen how he works out his plan
throughout the ages. But right now we have before us
our opportunity to live every day for Jesus Christ. Romans
Chapter twelve has shown us the way, and we have
a couple of more days than the month of July
that we're going to add to this instruction. So be

(24:38):
sure and be with us tomorrow, and don't forget to
ask for your copy of the book vanished when you
send your gift to Turning Point during the month of July.

Speaker 2 (24:46):
I'm David Jeremiah. Thank you for being with us.

Speaker 3 (24:48):
We'll see you tomorrow right here.

Speaker 2 (24:49):
On Dirty Point.

Speaker 1 (24:56):
Our message today originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church, and
do David Jeremiah, the senior pastor. If this ministry is
an encouragement to you, let us know by writing to
Turning Point pobox thirty eight thirty eight San Diego, California,
nine two one sixty three, visiting our website at David
Jeremiah dot org, Slash Radio, or calling eight hundred ninety

(25:18):
four seven nineteen ninety three ask for your copy of
David's exciting new novel Set in the End Times Vanished.
It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can
also view over twelve hundred of doctor Jeremiah sermons on
any screen anytime you like on our Turning Point Plus
streaming service for a monthly gift of any amount. Visit

(25:40):
Turningpoint plus dot org for details. That's Turningpoint plus dot
o RG. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow
for another special message from doctor David Jeremiah here on
Turning Point