'Be Not Conformed' | Pastor Henry Wright

Takoma Park SDA Church Worship Service
Saturday, May 07, 2016.

We are a welcoming and diverse community united in following Jesus to love and serve. This is the vision of Takoma Park SDA Church located in Takoma Park, MD, led by Pastor Henry Wright.

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[maggieechevarria]

Praise God...bless your servant Elder Henry Wright today and always Dear Father...help us all...LIFT US UP WITH YOUR POWER AND THE POWER OF YOUR HOLY SPIRIT.

[Sandy-H]

Never Disappointed as King Wright allows GOD to use him💜👑🌹THANK YOU LORD🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[SongbirdGLS]

Thank you, again, Pastor Wright.  God uses you in ways that truly make a difference in the lives of those of us who are seeking to follow Christ wholeheartedly, unreservedly.  Great sermon!!!

[janemuller]

Wise inspiring Words by an experienced, Wise Man of God. Help Me Lord to Focus on Me and Trust God ALL the Way in ALL circumstances. He gives us the Strength & Power to CONTROL the external pressure, as we EMPTY ourselves of Focussing on the UNIMPORTANT things in LIFE and RENEW our MINDS with His Life changing Love, Words & thoughts.👐

[dudleymchugh]

I thought the whole idea was ...to give up..I seen a balloon bursting on very slow motion...at the applying of the pin...the rubber peeled away from the bubble of compressed air...and left it there a bubble, momentarily, and then the air expanded at an explosive rate...making a Bang !!! It was pressure within, that caused the explosion. Didn't our Commander say that without him we can do nothing ? He is the Commander....no pressure...our Commander is also the maker of the Baby Duck...quack quack ...

[bearvillebear]

I've got a few words of encouragement in the midst of what's going on. It might sound wierd, it is for real and I thought it would be important to say it.

Its long because I've tried to and any faqs!
Hopefully this will answer some of those nagging questions -
Why can't evil be forgiven and let off, how is the whole "Jesus dying" thing really relevant to anything? To you?  if you still have any questions let me know x

Ever struggle? Ever doubt that God Loves You After what you've done? Ever wonder if He exists for that matter? Read this:

All of us have lied, stolen (even tiny things count), spoken badly to our parents and had embarrassing and detestable thoughts in our thought life. The Bible calls this "sin", the breaking of God's laws. You might think, so what? Everyone lies and thinks bad things about others! Its human!

You're right. That's exactly what the Bible says, we're "born into sin" and that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23

What is that "glory", morally speaking?
Well, the opposite of human nature and desires.
Not lying, not stealing, and having a perfect thought life is God's standard for us.

But if its God's standard and we were made in "God's image", Why don't we meet it?
Well, Remember Adam and Eve and when they sinned. Before sin they were perfect in thought word and DEED completely, but after the first sin occured due to Satan's tempting in the Garden, it destroyed that part of us that was morally perfect and in perfect harmony with God's morals, standard, and love. So while we kept certain things, the ability to be thinking individuals with unique personalities, the moral part (affecting how our thoughts, actions and personalities operate) was damaged. To the point where we are "opposed" to God, hence His nature and standards being the opposite of what we see as reasonable or possible. The Bible even makes it clear that "apart from God you can do nothing" - John 15:5. Without Him, it will 100% feel "opposite", unreasonable and alien to us. Only WITH Him can we gain victory in these things.

Why doesn't God just let sin off and leave it?
The Bible describes God as a "righteous judge", many wonder why God doesn't just let sin off and leave it, but He can't. Why? That's like a if a judge let off a
murderer who broke the state law. Everyone would attack that judge and call Him corrupt, saying that he had not done right and should be fired for failing to punish the murderer for his evil. AND to completely love and be good as God is, means you need to, in turn, hate all forms of evil. You can't truly love good unless you hate the existence of evil.

This means that God needed, as a righteous judge to punish sin with the ultimate penalty of death - expressing His hatred of evil - and separation from His presence forever. Hence Hell.

"The soul that sins shall die (in Hell and suffer damnation)" - Ezekiel 18:20

But God, who is also love, did not want to see His creation tortured and cut off from Him. He cares so much for is that He couldn't bear to see us fall into Satans hands and suffer death, even though we broke the law and deserve to bear the guilt, pain and be cut off from perfection forever through damnation.

Because of justice, God could not leave sin and evil unpunished, BUT because of LOVE, God provided someone else to take that punishment on our behalf, satisfying both justice (by punishing the evil committed), and love (by sparing OUR lives) despite our sin. 

God sent His own SON - think about that. His *Son*, the one whom He loved infinitely (the same way He loves us).

God allowed Him to take the pain we deserved, He took ALL of Gods wrath for every single sin you and I have committed. He was punished brutally and completely as if He was the picture of mankind's sin itself so that we do not have to be punished.

Back in the courtroom scenario: He paid the "fine" at His own expense (His life had to be morally perfect on this Earth, then He had to be killed as a sinless sacrifice on our behalf).
So when He returns to remove all evil from the face of the Earth, we can be spared and free because Christ has already BEEN punished on our behalf. He then rose again on the third day, conquering not only life and sin and temptation, but DEATH.

"I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (immortality and eternally in Heaven when I return)" - John 11:25-26

ALL we have to do is accept it by faith. Faith alone in Christ alone.

Religion = rules to be saved

The gospel = Christ saved us already we just have to believe it by faith. If you lack faith (as I did before), pray. He will make it strong it time. Trust Him as you would trust those close to you. He knows you even better than that. He created you and knows you inside out.

...WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

What does it actually mean for us?
It means we can be completely free from the penalty of damnation.
Not only that but we can be restored to Him and recreated into His moral image AGAIN as long as we accept Jesus having paid the price for us and accept Him as our Lord, the one who is in the front seat of our lives. He has a plan for your life, He's created you for a purpose. Just remember that. A purpose that includes being recreated into His image, one you can only accomplish through Him and reliance on His power and by following HIS way of life.

What is this new way entail?

It entails love, true love and service and aid to others, to "love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength" and "love your neighbour as you love yourself" Matthew 22:37, 39.

Sharing the message of Christ's death, resurrection and soon return on this Earth to give justice OR mercy depending on what the person chose.

Sound "opposite" again?
God knows it sounds opposite, which is why, as The Bible states, this is NOT something we can do alone. It's not in our nature.

We need a new nature in the front seat,   and the first step is to repent (turn from and reject our sin, pursuing the opposite direction and drawing close to God)

Christ will give us an actual DESIRE to do these things. Through the, Holy Spirit, sent by Him to us after the ascension. He speaks to us through thoughts, verses, ideas and prayers and guides us so that we gain a desire to follow God and be able to do these "opposite" things through Him.
...
What is the way FOR though?
Firstly its to save you from sin - the only way to gain victory over sin and not have it as your master is through having Christ as your master and following His aid to resist the devil's temptations.

Christ lived down here for 33 years suffering EVERY FORM of temptation that you have ever faced - "who in every respect [has] been tempted as we are, yet without sin" Hebrews 4:15.

Therefore He is able to help us through our struggles. When the devil knows people have left his camp, he always tries harder with more temptations and evil attacks. BUT - His way is also there to guard and teach you daily in the midst of this (and despite this) sinful, selfish world.

The path He wants you to walk is one of committment and love - its not about rules and regulations to save us - what Christ did GAVE us salvation. All we need is faith. The rest, the "fruits of good works (the will to obey and follow Him)", are what come through true, maturing faith. It's all about faith and the relationship God wants with you just like before sin arrived.

God preferred His own Son to be tortured And *killed* to give a chance to us (who broke His law of perfection) so that we can live as His children again. He wants us to love and trust and worship Him.

What if I still find myself sinning after I have accepted Christ?

That's why Christ died, For our sin. His death doesn't fix us in a snap like that, but it does protect us from the damnation that our past, present and future sins would bring without Jesus.

It's a process - a lifelong process - of God bringing you back to Him, away from the destructive pleasures of sin (greed, selfish temptations, trampling on people to gain). This takes a *lifetime*, as it does for all, but NEVER give up, when you fall, know Christ paid for that sin you committed already - just acknowledge your sin and ask for forgiveness - and you can get back up again because He already bore your guilt and shame.

Regardless of the darkness you are in or the extent or frequency of the sins you have committed or will commit, regardless of how doubtful you may feel, know that Jesus UNDERSTANDS completely and He is faithful.

"those who come to Me, I will by no means cast out" - John 6:37

...HOW DO I LEARN MORE?

Don't know where to start?
Note down the Gospel of "John", or "Luke" (if you want a more detailed account of it all).

Remember that He will "NEVER - and that means never - leave you, NOR forsake you" - Deuteronomy 31:6

Regardless of what goes on down here, God knows, Jesus has been down here and felt all the emotions you are feeling. You can go to Him with them and be assured that He loves you and is for you.
Even in the storm, God is still there, walking on the water alongside you.

Keep your heart open to Him and remember that if we pray for Christ to enter our lives, He will.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whomever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life". - John 3:16

Thanks for reading if you did. I just felt that I should tell you regardless. Let me know if you have any more or if you need clarification on anything x