All That Glitters is Not Gold | Randy Skeete

Summary

In the captivating sermon by Randy Skeete titled "All That Glitters is Not Gold," the core message revolves around the commitment to God's teachings and distinguishing between the superficial allure of worldly desires and the true, lasting value of spiritual fulfillment. Skeete emphasizes the importance of forming good habits, staying steadfast in faith, and the transformative power of bringing others to Christ. He intertwines anecdotes, Bible scriptures, and heartfelt advice to offer listeners a clarion call to prioritize godly commitments over worldly distractions.

Highlights

• God is good all the time—never forget to acknowledge that! 🙏
• Commitment to God’s teachings is crucial, even before your feet hit the ground in the morning. 🌅
• Bringing others to Christ is not an Everest—one invitation can be transformational. ✉️
• Mundane daily activities should never outweigh the importance of spiritual commitments. ⚖️
• Mixed marriages can lead to spiritual downfall if not aligned with God's faith. 💔
• Hold every worldly decision up to the light of God's word. 📖
• Trust and follow God's leadership even when the path isn’t clear. 🛤️

Key Takeaways

• Commit to forming good spiritual habits through constant repetition. 🙌
• Before anything else, start your day by committing to God—before even getting out of bed! 🌄
• Taking the step to bring even one person to Christ can profoundly change lives. 🙏
• Don’t let worldly desires overshadow spiritual commitments. 🌍✨
• Marriage, while sacred, should align with spiritual beliefs to avoid missteps. 💍
• Every decision should be examined in the light of God’s teachings. 🔍
• Above all, trust God's plan and His leaders for guidance and support. 🤝

Overview

Randy Skeete delivers a compelling talk emphasizing the deep commitment required to adhere to God's teachings amidst a world filled with distractions. He begins by reminding believers to start their day with prayer and a commitment to God, reinforcing that forming good spiritual habits can lead to a fulfilling life guided by faith.

He shares personal stories of inviting individuals to come to Christ, illustrating that anyone can make a significant impact without needing a theological degree. By weaving scriptures throughout his sermon, Skeete paints a picture of how mundane activities can distract from spiritual priorities if not kept in check.

Skeete also touches on the importance of aligning marriages with spiritual beliefs and urges listeners to reassess their life choices, ensuring they are in accord with God’s will. He challenges believers to bring at least one soul to Christ within a year, showing that little acts of faith can lead to the salvation of many.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:00: Introduction: God's Goodness The chapter titled 'Introduction: God's Goodness' emphasizes the consistent and unwavering goodness of God. It opens with a call and response declaration of God's goodness, followed by a greeting to the audience, asking if they slept well and prayed before bed. The speaker encourages spending 15 minutes each morning studying God's word and acknowledges those who have been committed to this practice. It concludes with the mention of sharing a personal experience sent by someone.
• 02:00 - 04:00: Commitment and Habits In the chapter titled 'Commitment and Habits,' the discussion revolves around the significance of commitment and the importance of following through on promises made to God. The text references Matthew 12:36, highlighting the biblical teaching that every idle word spoken will be accounted for in judgment. The chapter underscores the importance of taking commitments seriously and fulfilling them, as exemplified by an individual's dedication to studying and sharing detailed insights, reflecting their serious commitment.
• 04:00 - 07:00: Bringing Someone to Christ The chapter 'Bringing Someone to Christ' discusses the importance of forming good habits through repetition. It emphasizes the significance of starting each day by dedicating time to engage with the word of God as an essential practice for one's salvation.
• 07:00 - 10:00: Historical Reference: Ellen White The chapter emphasizes the importance of committing one's life to God the moment one awakens and realizes they are alive. It stresses the unpredictable nature of life and the possibility of dying at any moment, thus urging immediate devotion to the 'lifegiver' as soon as consciousness is regained.
• 10:00 - 14:00: Obeying Church Leadership The chapter titled 'Obeying Church Leadership' begins with a reflection on the importance of engaging with and studying the word actively. The speaker prompts self-reflection among the audience by asking who among them has never brought someone to Jesus Christ and witnessed their baptism. By asking these questions, the speaker encourages the congregation to commit to bring at least one person to Jesus Christ, highlighting the significance of spreading the Christian faith and obeying church guidance in doing so.
• 14:00 - 17:00: Prayer for Strength and Guidance The chapter discusses the theme of 'Prayer for Strength and Guidance' with a focus on encouraging the reader to take action in spreading their beliefs. It addresses the reader's potential hesitation in conducting Bible studies by suggesting they can simply facilitate arrangements for others who can lead these studies. The narrative includes an anecdote about an Evangelistic campaign in Dar es Salaam, illustrating how leadership plays a crucial role in these endeavors, and encourages individuals to actively participate in their community's spiritual growth, even if indirectly.
• 17:00 - 21:00: Exercising the Voice and Communication The chapter begins with the narrator discussing their fondness for staying fit and exercising, leading to a search for a gym in Dar es Salaam with an elder companion. They find a small gym in Mayfair and upon visiting, the narrator communicates with the receptionist through the elder who translates from Swahili. The purpose of the visit and an invitation to the receptionist are conveyed, and she agrees to join them that same night.
• 21:00 - 31:00: The Days of Noah and Lot The chapter 'The Days of Noah and Lot' opens with a discussion about the simplicity and power of an invitation to faith. The narrator recalls an experience in Kampala, Uganda, where an unexpected encounter in a hotel lobby led to an evangelistic conversation. Through this personal anecdote, the chapter emphasizes the importance of being open to opportunities for sharing one's faith. The narrative focuses on the impact one can have through everyday interactions, similar to the biblical times of Noah and Lot, where small acts of faith can lead to significant spiritual transformations.
• 31:00 - 41:00: Valuing Spiritual Over Physical Desires The chapter narrates an event involving a Ugandan Army soldier assigned to protect a diplomat. The soldier was off duty, dressed in civilian clothing, and initially hesitant to attend a preaching session due to a lack of transportation. However, the narrator arranged for her to be picked up and taken to the event, culminating in the soldier getting baptized. The chapter emphasizes the importance of spiritual commitment over physical or material desires.
• 41:00 - 50:00: Marriage and Unequally Yoked Relationships The chapter discusses the challenges of bringing someone to Christ, emphasizing that many Christians overlook the possibility. It highlights the concept that in heaven, no one will have a 'starless crown,' suggesting every person will have led at least one soul to salvation through their efforts.
• 50:00 - 60:00: Prioritizing God's Work The chapter discusses the importance of bringing others to Jesus Christ as a means of ensuring one's own salvation. It introduces the idea that saving souls is not only about helping others but also about securing one's own place in the afterlife. The chapter emphasizes the need to make a commitment to God, urging individuals to aim to bring at least two people to God within a year.

All That Glitters is Not Gold | Randy Skeete Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 God is good all the time and all the time God is good let's try that again God is good all the time and all the time God is good yes God is very good indeed good morning everyone morning did you sleep well did you pray before going to bed how many of you took those 15 minutes this morning to study God's word can I see your hands God bless you let me um tell you a little experience someone sent me an
• 00:30 - 01:00 email of what he or she studied and uh very detailed and I was pleased to see that that someone took seriously the commitment the Bible says Every Idle Word that people speak they shall give an account in the Judgment Matthew 12 believe: 36 when you make a commitment to God follow through on it please that's why I ask how many of you took time
• 01:00 - 01:30 anything you start and you stick with it for a while it will become a habit and they're good habits and bad habits and they are both difficult to break and they are both formed the same way through constant repetition and so I urge you again please for the sake of your own salvation make time first thing in the morning to get into the word of God before your feet hit the ground
• 01:30 - 02:00 when you open your eyes and you realize you're alive commit your life to God why do I say before your feet hit the ground because you may expire before your feet hit the ground now that's no joke you can die in a moment the instant you open your eyes and you realize I am alive you acknowledge the lifegiver and commit your life to him then proceed to get into into his
• 02:00 - 02:30 word so I I truly hope I was wondering this morning and last night wondering wondering who study the word this morning let me ask another question which one of you has never never brought someone to Jesus Christ and seen that person baptized you have never hands down I'd like you to make a commitment to bring one person to Christ within the
• 02:30 - 03:00 next calendar year let's say 12 months between now and April of 2013 one person now you're probably thinking I cannot give Bible studies you don't have to do you know someone who can then can you invite someone to have a study with that person you didn't answer me yes two experiences that beell me a few years ago I was in uh Dar Salam to do an Evangelistic campaign and wherever I CH I always ask the leaders of the church
• 03:00 - 03:30 find the gym because I like to exercise stay in shape and the Elder one of the elders and I were going through darusalam looking for a suitable gym we came to This Little Gym in a place called Mayfair and uh we walked in I told him to tell the receptionist a very lovely young lady why I am here and I wanted her to come so he told her in Swahili and uh I said tell him tell her that I am the speaker and I want her to come so she came the same night and God
• 03:30 - 04:00 baptized simply because of one invitation that does not require any degree of Genius you just say please come I was in campala Uganda for a similar purpose I was staying in a hotel so I came down to the lobby for some reason I don't recall and there was a young lady in the lobby and all preachers are very nervous uh nosy they have to be so I said who are you why are you here and what are you doing she said well my name is such and such and uh then she told me she was a
• 04:00 - 04:30 soldier in the Ugandan Army but she was out of uniform she was assigned to protect a diplomat from another country but she had a colleague with her and the the other lady Soldier was in the room upstairs with the Diplomat she was off duty so she was in her civilian clothing I told her I'm here to preach I want you to come she said I have no Transportation I said every day a car comes for me at 5:15 you'll be ready in this Lobby 5:15 I will take you with me she came got baptized what am I trying to say it is
• 04:30 - 05:00 not a Mount Everest of a challenge to bring someone to Christ the problem is it never occurs to Christians it never occurs to Christians there will be no one saved in heaven with a starless crown if you enter there will be some soul in the court of Glory that has found an entrance there through your instrumentality you cannot walk through
• 05:00 - 05:30 the Pearly Gates if you have not directly or indirectly brought someone to Jesus Christ you can't do it so perhaps now you'll see saving souls in a different light you're saving your own self make a commitment father within 12 months two of these and that I want to bring someone to you is that too much
• 05:30 - 06:00 those of you who've never brought someone to Christ and you're willing to make that commitment believing that God will help you can I see your right hand hands down let me pray loving father in Heaven we thank you for the willingness of your people to be instruments of Salvation I ask you now dear God In The Name of Jesus Christ who came to save that you would enable them grant them the wisdom lead Le them to the person
• 06:00 - 06:30 whom they can bring to you for as you have committed to as you have reconciled us through Christ you have committed to us the ministry of reconciliation so bless the efforts I pray so that they may experience the unmatched Delight of having brought someone to Jesus Christ here this humble prayer I offer it in Jesus name Amen in 1891 El white went off to
• 06:30 - 07:00 Australia and she spent almost 10 years in Australia and built up the work which is now of course well known around the world she laid the foundations for the college we now have in Australia called the avandale I believe it is place called Kuran bong she had a home there called uh sanicide I had the pleasure of going to that house when Ellen White was sent by the general conference she did not want to go
• 07:00 - 07:30 it was about the time that the message of righteousness by faith was very popular and she Wagner and Jones were traveling the country preaching this message people's lives were changing and of course if you read Adventist history you'll realize with some shame of disgrace that um if you believe in corporate responsibility that the church largely rejected the message when I say the church I mean essentially leaders in the church not all but leaders in the church
• 07:30 - 08:00 and so they were very glad to get rid of her and banish her to Australia you understand and banish wager to England and left 0 Jones by himself and Ellen White writes clearly she did not feel she needed to go but she had a policy follow me closely unless she had direct communication from God not to do it she always obeyed the mandates of the leadership ship of the
• 08:00 - 08:30 church now this is not a direct quote I'm paraphrasing unless it was clear to her from God that she should not do it she always went along with the directions of the church leadership even though she knew what was in their hearts and the error of their ways now why am I saying that some of you have a heavy heart because of what happened yesterday are you with me here's a policy I follow
• 08:30 - 09:00 anytime the leaders of the church ask me to do something if it's the head El of my local church if it is not a sin and it does not violate my conscience I feel Duty bound to honor the leadership of the church are you following me and so I want to urge you to try to see it from their position
• 09:00 - 09:30 you made a commitment to God do not change that commitment are you with me do not change it under any circumstances what did not happen yesterday can happen 3 weeks from now are you following me try to see it from their side you may not understand all the ins and outs that's why people are in leadership they know things we don't but trust them it is better for your peace of mind trust them commit their experience to God and say father I have made this commitment to you I will not change it
• 09:30 - 10:00 according to your timetable present me the earliest opportunity to act on it publicly and I say that from my heart this is God's church and he leads his church do we always understand what the church does no if the church does not ask you to me a sin the church does not require an action that violates your conscience try to obey the church
• 10:00 - 10:30 I want to pray for those of you who were disappointed yesterday ask God to strengthen you I know he will so if you bow your heads where you are and I'll pray loving father in Heaven you know all things you know what's best your word says in Romans 8:28 all things work together for good to them that love the Lord to them that are called according to his purpose and so I pray father you'd Grant strength to those who feel a
• 10:30 - 11:00 little disappointed those who feel down and discouraged I pray that you lift them up as David said in Psalm 8 Psalm 3 from verse one Lord how are they increase that trouble me many are they that rise up against me many they be which sath my soul there is no help for him in God but thou oh Lord art a shield from me my glory and the lifter up of my head and so I ask you to lift their heads now in confidence that you are
• 11:00 - 11:30 directing their steps bless them H in the day when they can be baptized according to their commitment to you use their lives to inspire others bless the leadership of the work in this part of the world give them wisdom from above because leadership is not easy it is hard work you strengthen them direct them that the work in this part of the world may flourish and Blossom and contribute to the hastening of Jesus Christ here this humble prayer I offer it de God in Jesus name let all God's people say amen and
• 11:30 - 12:00 amen all right one mic isn't working we have another you know I always wondered how Moses spoke to two million people there's something I'm trying to practice in the book The Voice in speech and song page 295 paragraph 2 El white
• 12:00 - 12:30 writes these words El white writes these words if you let your words come from deep down exercising the abdominal abdominal muscles you can speak to thousands with just as much ease as you can speak to 10 and let me let you into something private and that always waks people
• 12:30 - 13:00 up they're expecting something Sensational I have began praying to God I say father before you put me in the grave if I die before your son comes let me experience what El white talks about in the voice and speech in song page 295 paragraph 2 that if you use the voice properly you can speak to thousands without one of these just as easily as you can speak 10 do you know Ellen's wife's voice
• 13:00 - 13:30 could be heard a mile away and I said father how did she do that well it was God doing it through her but I still thank God for microphones and sound systems do three favors for me for the final time are your phones already turned off has anyone been rebelling against that request you just refuse to turn your phone off and you've been saying
• 13:30 - 14:00 that man can't tell me what to do who does he think he is who who's been doing that can I see your hand your guilty hand no one all right every church has some Rebels every church has Rebels you know the most dangerous people in the world the church members there's always a church member who will let the pastor know you don't know what trouble is you you're going to find out in a minute because I'll let you know what trouble is there always people like that in every church and then there are those who make it the business to make the
• 14:00 - 14:30 pastor's life as comfortable as possible you can decide which way you will go all phones turned off thank you for those of you who've been cooperating favor number two while I'm speaking what should you do and what will you say Lord put your words in that man's mouth I really need that and favor number three I wonder how many of you have been thinking can I see your hand I know wonder if you got angry with me because you think but okay you've been thinking all right
• 14:30 - 15:00 our subject for today All That Glitters Is Not Gold All That Glitters Is Not Gold it's 20 after 8 I think I have until 9ine I'll try not to exceed that I don't think I need to All That Glitters Is Not Gold let's pray Holy Father in Heaven please help me this final time more than you have in a past that I might make this message very
• 15:00 - 15:30 clear direct pointed and biblical let the spirit working through Me Be The Same Spirit convicting the hearts of those who listen that Hearts May respond a God to the truth and having responded that lives may change please answer this prayer I offer it in Jesus name
• 15:30 - 16:00 Amen in Luke chapter 17 Reading from verse 26 Luke 17 Reading from verse 26 are all phones really turned off
• 16:00 - 16:30 do you know God has killed people for irreverence in the past you can read the Bible he killed them you disrespectful dead God has not changed I don't mean to scare the person who just God has not changed this all right let's go on Luke 17 Reading from verse 26 this is Jesus Christ speaking he says
• 16:30 - 17:00 and as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be also in the days of the son of man they did eat they drank they married wives they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and Destroy them all likewise also as it was in the days of lot they did eat they drank they bought they sold they planted they builded but the same day that lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and Destroy them all even thus shall it be in the day
• 17:00 - 17:30 when the Son of God or the son of man is revealed we're all very familiar with this word this passage from Christ but how closely have we looked at the words of Jesus Christ the Bible is inexhaustible and it always serves us well to take a second look a third look at what seems to be a generally familiar passage first of all the passage gives us Insight in the conditions of the
• 17:30 - 18:00 world that will exist before Jesus Christ comes back and you can get that idea without going to a suser or a palm reader or a witch doctor and spending money all you've got to do is examine the way it was in the days of Noah and lot to conclude with some accuracy the general conditions that will exist in the days of Jesus Christ just before he comes back God said in the days of Noah did it eat they drank they married wives
• 18:00 - 18:30 they were given in marriage what happened to them when the flood came destroyed how many of them except the eight in the ark why would God destroy someone for eating for drinking in Genesis 2:9 the Bible says and the Lord God planted a garden in verse 8 and9 planted a garden Eastward in Eden and there he put the man whom he had formed and out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that's
• 18:30 - 19:00 Pleasant to the sight and good for food God invented eating he arranged that sinless people should eat in the new world even though we shall be immortal we are required to eat because our immortality is connected with our constant feeding from the Tree of Life which gives us the very life of God so eating is from God verse 10 Genesis 2 and a river went out of Eden to water the garden and from then it was parted became into four heads there was
• 19:00 - 19:30 water to drink in the Garden of Eden and he showed me a pure River of Water of Life clear as Crystal proceeding out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb genes revelation 22:1 we shall have the Water of Life Again The River of Life from which we shall drink freely God arranged for Humanity to eat and drink why destroy people for eating and drinking in Genesis 2 from verse 21 the the Bible says and the Lord God caused a
• 19:30 - 20:00 deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man and Adam said this is now born of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife and there shall be one flesh man and wife the marriage ceremony conducted by God the institution invented by God why would
• 20:00 - 20:30 God destroy people who were marrying and giving in marriage let's go to verse 28 of Luke 17 likewise also what does likewise mean in the same way now lot lived hundreds of years after Noah but sin does not change except it becomes worse in other words what led to the destruction in the days of Noah led to the destruction in the days of
• 20:30 - 21:00 lot you missed it let me say it again in the days of Noah there was no such crime called stealing hubcaps are you with me why there were no cars but was there sin yes and so likewise in the days of lot did it eat same as Noah did they drink or they drank same as Noah now we
• 21:00 - 21:30 introduced to some other things they did which they also did in the days of Noah they bought they sold they planted they build it that's taking care of life from day to day and conducting one's business you buy you sell it wasn't on eBay back then but they bought and they sold now the Bible has business principles we should follow read The Book of Proverbs God built a city in space for us he bring it down there are
• 21:30 - 22:00 instructions in the first five books how to build your house build a wall around the roof so if someone goes up in the roof doesn't fall off why would God destroy people for eating drinking planting sewing selling buying why now here is what Jesus did not say as we continue all the glitches Is Not Gold Christ could have said as it wasn't in the days of Noah so shall it be also
• 22:00 - 22:30 in the days of the son of man they did commit adultery they did commit fornication they did commit murder they they steal they they cheat on their taxes did those things happen in Noah's Day come on answer me yes why did christ not mention them let's see who's intelligent who's really bright why did christ not mention them because they are too obvious there are too
• 22:30 - 23:00 obvious as I said yesterday most people do not commit murder most people don't break into other people's houses most people do not commit genocide most people don't rape and plunder most people don't but most people eat and drink most need somewhere to live most engage in some activity that provides an income all do that virtually the beggar does it by just Begg
• 23:00 - 23:30 and so Jesus knowing it's too clear and obvious that people will be destroyed for murder and fornication and blasphemy whatever else he points out that people are similarly lost for the normal activities of life when those activities take precedence over God let me make someone uncomfortable it's not my intention but it always
• 23:30 - 24:00 works out that way God said they they eat they drank they married wives they were given in marriage if I were to count the amount of people I've had to counsel who married outside the church I could have a nation the urge for a mate is so strong it is stronger than the urge to be faithful to God now you can say whatever you you like I'm
• 24:00 - 24:30 telling you what I've seen the pressure to be married is so great from society to society that people are willing to disgrace God to fulfill a social expectation the urge to have a child is so great that people are willing to have one whether the conditions are biblical or not now you know I'm telling the
• 24:30 - 25:00 truth and then we go to the Bible and try to twist we invent all kinds of reasons that are non-existent they have no origin in heaven consequently they originated from hell it's one or the other and one thing we invent is boyfriend evangelism or girlfriend evangelism well he's taking studies let someone else give him the studies he's a good Baptist he's not a believer when Abraham came into Canaan the
• 25:00 - 25:30 Canaanites had their own religion they were good Canaanites they offered their children in the fire they were very faithful to what they believed virtually all people are religious an atheist is religious his religion is there's no God an evolutionist is religious he believes he came from piece of slime doesn't me math if he goes to church does he believe what you believe does she believe what what you believe El white talks to young lady she says I have heard she said though the companion
• 25:30 - 26:00 of your choice were in all other respects worthy which he is not she puts in quotation marks uh brackets he he has not accepted the truth for this time he's an unbeliever an unbeliever is someone who does not believe present truth he could be the pope he's an unbeliever a Jehovah's Witness is an unbeliever to a Mormon and a Pentecostal is an unbeliever to a
• 26:00 - 26:30 Seventh Day Adventist if you read Genesis first three verses well Genesis the first eight verses it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the Earth and daughters were born unto them that the sons of God meaning the holy line saw the daughters of men the Heathen women that they were Fair beautiful and they took them wives of all which they chose do you know how many people marry based on the outside when the outside fails they get
• 26:30 - 27:00 out if you really knew what marriage is and what God expects fewer people would get married we have a glamorized Hollywood version a magazine version of marriage when you understand marriage is for life you may think twice of getting into it and so the marri married they were given in
• 27:00 - 27:30 marriage I was conducting an Evangelistic Series in some country on the face of the Earth and um this man came to me for counseling he said ELD I want to talk to you yes about what well I'm seeing a woman what that's good um what's the problem she's not Adventist why are you seeing
• 27:30 - 28:00 her I love her but you're the head ELD of the church you're the head ELD of the church he said past i l her I said brother let's go to 2 Corinthians 6:14 be not an equally Yol together with unbelievers let's read Genesis 24 where Abraham told elezar do not take a wife to my son from the women among the Canaanites the amorites the gites don't
• 28:00 - 28:30 go back to my people who understand my Covenant connection to God but I love her so I said well tell me what you want me to pray about you looked at me I said I can't pray that God bless this Union El white writes to connect with an unbeliever is to place yourself on Satan's ground you grieve the spirit of God and forfeit
• 28:30 - 29:00 his protection she says I have heard that you're intending to marry a man who is not a Believer I am unable to write you a long letter she says but I will say if you take this step you depart from the plainest injunction of scripture and cannot expect nor claim God's blessing on such a union those quot s letters to young lovers page uh 83 paragraph 1 letters to
• 29:00 - 29:30 young lovers page 87 paragraph 3 Advent is at Adventist home page 67 paragraph 1 so marriage even though God invented it when conducted the wrong way brings the curse of God not the blessing if you are romantically mismatched break it off today call that man call that
• 29:30 - 30:00 woman not to discuss anything to make an announcement it was mixed marriage that was at the foundation of the all the corruption in the world before the flood that led to the destruction of the flood you go to Patriarchs and Prophets read the chapter on Seth and Enoch where Ellen White said this mixing of marriage Pro produc the very worst
• 30:00 - 30:30 results it is one of the plagues in the church that is weakening the church because we argue from a human standpoint there are no men in the church I have to look out there are no men because you can't find them can God find a man for you yes or no yes lack of faith there are no women that as far as you know can God find one yes and if he can't find one can you make one
• 30:30 - 31:00 yes listen to me always do what's right always do what's right let me repeat for the sake of the record in Heaven and Earth if you are involved with a non-believer break it off and don't concern yourself with whatever the person says young lady came to me in New York City pastor pray for my boyfriend sure
• 31:00 - 31:30 why what's the problem with your boyfriend he won't come to church so I said why won't a nice Adventist vegetarian young man like that not come to church and she put her head down what do you think she said he is not and I knew that he is not an Adventist I said Okay remind me again what is it you want me to pray about and she looked at me I said here's what I'll pray for I will pray that you
• 31:30 - 32:00 will go to that young man and apologize for misleading him as to what this church tolerates and you will tell him I was wrong to give you the impression that my church Smiles on this kind of behavior I have misled you I apologize forgive me and may God find some other way of leading you to the truth but I'm not the one you can have young men running around saying you want an easy woman go to the Adventist Church we can't have
• 32:00 - 32:30 that just because society says get a man or get a woman and what Jesus says they were eating drinking marrying giving in marriage once twice three times what am I trying to stress now that I've come back from my uncomfortable digression most will be lost not for what the world considers
• 32:30 - 33:00 crimes but for normal events that took precedence over God let me explain that to you graphically go to Genesis chapter 25 as we continue All That Glitters Is Not Gold that marriage May glitter it may be the first step to destruction that business that's flourishing May glitter it may be the first step to destruction anything contrary to God and takes God's place is a sin and a crime anything on anyone Genesis 25
• 33:00 - 33:30 reading from verse 29 the Bible says and Joseph uh Jacob sorry s pottage and Esau came from the field and he was faint and Esau said to Jacob feed me I pray thee with that same red pottage for I am faint therefore was his name called Edom and Jacob said sell me this day thy Birthright now you all know that story what is Esau's condition he's
• 33:30 - 34:00 hungry at what level is he hungry physical physical this is not spiritual hunger for the word this is physical now do human beings get hungry yes or no was Jesus hungry yes or no will we be hungry in the new world yes that's why we ate the 12 fruit from the Tree of Life he was hungry nothing wrong with physical hunger it is one of the urges God put in us but it must be controlled by the way come on somebody say amen verse 31 and Jacob said sell me
• 34:00 - 34:30 this day thy Birthright and Esau said behold I am at the point to die and what profit shall this Birthright do to me the only other person who made a more terrible mistake in not placing the proper value on something was Eve
• 34:30 - 35:00 the birthright represented everything a Jewish boy could hope for all the blessings went to the firstborn half the father's uh possessions went to the firstborn the leadership of the family went to the firstborn the office of priesthood went to the firstborn boy I mean firstborn boy the passage of the Messiah H Jesus Christ coming the Covenant blessings through the firstborn which means Blessings Now and in the
• 35:00 - 35:30 world to come these are considerations that are temporal and eternal but Esau because he was hungry which is okay because he needed food which is normally okay but when he placed food above the spiritual the Bible says in verse 34 then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils and he did eat and drink and Rose up went his way finish the
• 35:30 - 36:00 verse thus Esau despised his Birthright now Esau did not say I hate this Birthright no many people don't say I hate God we just simply have to say I love the world and that's it you don't even have to say I love the world you just have to show it by your behavior what you watch on television what you read who you hang out with so Esau despised his Birthright but I want you to go back back to verse 32 and he said behold I am at the point to
• 36:00 - 36:30 die and what prophet shall this Birthright do to me now Esau values the birthright in the light of his hunger and therefore he he undervalued it he misprised the birthright and we are in danger of doing that what profit in other words what's the benefit of a Birthright when right now I have an urge and a need that is physical I'm a single mother three little children my husband is dead I'm
• 36:30 - 37:00 unemployed someone gave me $400 I have rent school fees this little child needs to go to the doctor to get some medicine little money what profit will tithing be to me given my situation I'm a 32y old woman all my sisters including those younger than me are married what profit is Chastity to me
• 37:00 - 37:30 I graduated from college I have a degree in something I've put in application after application all of them are willing to hire me if I will work on Saturday I need a job what profit is Sabbath keeping to me how many of us are reasoning that way right don't raise your hands we are in a situation where that is
• 37:30 - 38:00 effectively our reasoning I'm not staying single all my life I don't care if that man is a Baptist Jehovah's Witness or from the Church of Satan I've got him and I'm not letting him go and so the glitter on that man is not gold because the fires of Hell will also so
• 38:00 - 38:30 glitter my brothers and sisters I'm just trying to wake you up you see too many human beings feel weak and fool you know sometimes when I hurt God and I'm embarrassed I go to the bathroom and pray and I turn off the light so he doesn't see me I'm Ser I turn off the lights I figure he can't see me I'm so embarrassed up to now as a grown man I turned the lights off I feel less exposed and the Lord laughs I'm sure he does I was in uh the Philippines say amen for
• 38:30 - 39:00 the Philippines any I was in seihor and I was walking along the beach we were staying at a little in a series of cottages right on the beach and there's some little crabs in sikor Little Blue Crabs when you come towards them they all bur on the ground very quickly and they they vanish but if you stand your ground when they think you're gone they come up so what I did I saw one fellow he buried bured on the ground so I scooped him up and held him in my
• 39:00 - 39:30 hand so he thought he was in the sand which he was but in my hand and I'm waiting for him so he came out but in my hand when I went to touch him he went back under the sand he is hiding in my hand are you with me and so many of us we hide from God in God's hand 10 to uh
• 39:30 - 40:00 something my brothers and sisters let me speak from my heart as I have tried all weekend can I tell you something I want you to believe me do you know I love you not because you're lovable because I am commanded to love you what does John 15:12 say this is my
• 40:00 - 40:30 commandment that you love one another and I felt the need to tell you that because you may think this man is hard and harsh but the only way to crack a nut is to hit it with a sledgehammer what's that what Hammer is good too well Sledgehammer is a
• 40:30 - 41:00 hammer I just want you to open your eyes wake up and make sure that where you're stepping is the path to Salvation you know there are people who say to God lord lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful Works Matthew 7:21-23 then shall I profess unto them what I
• 41:00 - 41:30 never knew you I just never knew isn't that sad and then you say but God I've been in the church 40 years and since God doesn't chew his cabbage twice or change his mind look I said I never knew you the only thing that should glitter in your life is that which points you to Heaven don't put your education ahead of
• 41:30 - 42:00 a preparation for God's Kingdom in reviewing heral January 24 1888 paragraph 4 El white writes these words that will wake up the dead listen carefully if your thoughts your plans your purposes are all directed toward the accumulation of the things of Earth which was the condition in the days of Noah and the days of lot they did eat they drank they bought bought they sold they planted they build the married wives gave in marriage those are the things of Earth
• 42:00 - 42:30 if your thoughts your plans your purposes are all directed toward the accumulation of the things of Earth your anxiety your study your interest will all be centered upon the world the Heavenly attractions will lose their beauty the glories of the Eternal world will cease to have the force of reality to you
• 42:30 - 43:00 when your main focus is your education without seeing how it will serve God's kingdom or your social life or your business life or your career or whomever your romantic life when that is always the dominant concerns in your life ELO says it will come to the place if you live long enough where the concept of Heaven strikes you as science fiction it just makes no sense to you because your mind has never rested in heaven it is rooted on the
• 43:00 - 43:30 earth here's how most societies think and I'm sure it's the way in Korea you grow up go to school doesn't have to be an adver school go to school go to the best elementary school then go to the best secondary school and the best is in quotation marks then go to the best college then go to the best university so you can get
• 43:30 - 44:00 the best training get the best job and get the best lifestyle and so in that sense we don't worship God we worship education young man came to me several years ago at a camp meeting I want to talk to you I said come on let's talk a tear came to his eye why are you crying he said when I pick up the Bible to study it my father would kick it out
• 44:00 - 44:30 of my hand is your father Adventist yes why would he kick the Bible out of your hand because he said that will not prepare you for the SAT you know what the SAT is whatever your exam is in Korea I don't know it will not prepare you for medical school pick up your physics book the young man told me that let me say what he told me the father would do what kick the Bible out
• 44:30 - 45:00 of his hand being a adst Christian in favor of the physics book you tell me who was that man's God education great controversy page 583 paragraph 1 we write the we read these disturbing words it is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to Fashion an idol of of wood or stone you heard Elder bore said Sabbath
• 45:00 - 45:30 keeping is an idol to people not Sabbath keeping Sunday worship he's right when you choose a theory that's error above truth that theory is your god and so for that man preparation for a secular education was his God and he could not tolerate his son studying God's word young lady came to me same camp meeting crying why are you crying he said pastor I have one foot in the church and one foot in the world and the foot in the world is on a banana peel I'll fall in a minute why I wanted to
• 45:30 - 46:00 attend an Adventist School my parents said no the level of education is too low go to a secular school that has a name so you get to the best medical school that has a name she said the day I enter that medical school that has a name every foundational belief I think I knew was shaken and I'm halfway in the church halfway out and she was
• 46:00 - 46:30 crying am I against good education no but listen to what the church our classical view of education is this the book education page 13 paragraph one our ideas of Education take too narrow and to low a range there's need for a broad scope a higher aim true education means more than the pursu of a certain course of study it means more than the preparation for the life that now is notice that it means more than a preparation for the life that now is it
• 46:30 - 47:00 has to do with the whole being and the whole period of existence possible to man what period is that eternity it is the harmonious development of the physical the mental and the spiritual Powers Now Catch This It prepares the student for the joy of service in this life and for the higher Joy of wider service in the world to come now if there's a higher joy and a wider service in the world to come the emphasis must be the world to
• 47:00 - 47:30 come and so we see these degrees as glittering you know Jesus told the parable then said he unto them a certain man made a great supper and B many you know that Parable and he sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were been come for all things and now ready and they all with one consent began to make what excuse notice the nature of
• 47:30 - 48:00 the excuse that I'm done the first said unto him I have bought a piece of land and I must needs go see it I pray thee have me excuse is there any crime in buying land did Abraham buy land in which to bury Sarah yes verse 19 and another said I have bought five Yan oxen I must go prove them I pray thee have me excused did Abraham have cattle did Lord have cattle oh yes verse 20 another said I have married
• 48:00 - 48:30 a wife and therefore I cannot come did God perform the first marriage yes look at the nature on the surface of the excuses I just bought some land no crime in that I just bought some cattle no crime in that I just married a wife she's an Adventist too no crime in that but the result was no one came to the supper and so the church says we need someone to pass our track and preparing for final exam okay we need someone to be a regular part of
• 48:30 - 49:00 this uh uh I I just enrolled for six-year program in advanced Sciences I can come the work of God needs this or that I engaged and I need to spend time with uh him or her listen uh in Pap guini they need to speak urgently and we know you have to call would you go no I I I'm expecting a child my wife is 6 months I want to be there to see
• 49:00 - 49:30 it what's the end result nobody goes God faces that all the time because what should not glitter in our eyes is what Glitters and rather than God's work glittering the things of this world they glitter and they blind us to the needs of God's work my young brothers and sisters my not so young brothers and sisters make up your mind take a risk on
• 49:30 - 50:00 God take a bungee jump of faith and see what God does for you the work of God is suffering because so many of his people are tied up in this world I speak as your brother in Christ I speak as someone whose heart bleeds for
• 50:00 - 50:30 God and I urge you sit down and talk to God say father wherever I am connected to this world if you don't approve cut that connection if you haven't got the guts to do it you ask God to do it you say father wherever I am connected to this world and it is not useful to you and your work you cut it and see what God
• 50:30 - 51:00 does and so one more time I recommit my life to God I hope this tape doesn't get to my family but uh my brother died in 2010 I was in Indonesia preaching and I have a statement I carry with me which I've never shown my wife it's right in my wallet this wallet about 20 years and it looks like it if you look at it and uh the statement says in
• 51:00 - 51:30 essence not even death or sickness are good enough reasons to call AD Minister away from an interest in God's work this right you didn't hear me so let me say it again let me put it this way I was in uh South Africa preaching in Butterworth amen okay throw through the trans Sky
• 51:30 - 52:00 pass okay sister don't get out of hand okay and uh I was uh the the young man who invited me he was a youth leader then named busy kumalo he's now in the in the division good man and he and I were talking I told him I said booy if I huh booy booy booy brother kumalo and uh I said listen if you're preaching nothing should take
• 52:00 - 52:30 you from that responsibility including sickness or death he never heard the expression so of course he looked at me I left South Africa went home a few weeks later he went to lutu did I say that properly all right and uh he went to ludu to conduct an Evangelistic campaign in the middle of the campaign his wife got very sick and they called him now in the eyes of the world what should a good husband do yes catch the first plane and fly back
• 52:30 - 53:00 home he said I remembered what you said and I said Lord I am staying to try to bring people to you you take care of the situation he said the Lord worked a miracle for his life so when my brother died in 210 I was in Indonesia we up in a mountain as a place called bandom speaking of the college got an email your brother's
• 53:00 - 53:30 dead I'm in the middle of this week of prayer he's dead come home don't give this tape to my family I said father what do I do I knelt down a little room it was dark I cried I prayed I said Lord I cannot leave not because I'm good I just cannot leave now if I had the power to resurrect him then I'd go and so I
• 53:30 - 54:00 stayed and I got some emails you could imagine the the character of the emails I got from family and friends people said all sorts of things I'll never listen to that man again preach if he can just not come to it I'll never find they did not understand Patriarchs and Prophets page 126 paragraph 1 El white writes of Abraham now that Abraham was in a
• 54:00 - 54:30 special sense connected with Heaven he must dwell among strangers his character must be peculiar differing from all the world he could not explain his course of action so as to be understood by his friends his his spiritual things are spiritually discerned and his motives and actions were not comprehended by his idolatrous skin what am I saying is when you take a serious stand for God not even members of the church will understand but you must come to the place where the
• 54:30 - 55:00 work of God takes priority over everything else know a young man works in the Michigan conference he's recently married wife was pregnant and he got a call to preach close to the time of delivery I said what will you do he said I'm going to preach I can't help her deliver the baby I'm going to preach he said the Lord will take and he went most people will demn you for that John the Baptist was the cousin of
• 55:00 - 55:30 Jesus Christ by 6 months older than Christ you read Mark 1:14-15 when Jesus heard John the Baptist was in prison did Jesus go to get him out Jesus left the area because going to get him out had no connection to Christ's Mission are you following me it had no connection at all so he left his cousin now years later when Christ was in heaven and Peter was in prison did Christ send send his angels to get Peter out yes it suited the purpose of the Gospel
• 55:30 - 56:00 then when Christ was on the cross or when he rose I should say did the graves open yes or no did people come up yes or no did he take them to heaven with him did he leave his mother yes it did not suit his purpose to take his mother he left her when Christ was on the cross he looked down and saw his mother to whom did give his mother John how many brothers did Jesus have four he
• 56:00 - 56:30 did not give them to his brothers he gave them to John now you explain that to me now secular thinking is how could you do that how could you disgrace the family that's not the way God thinks he gave his mother to someone not connected by Blood I'm trying to get you to understand when you decide to take a stand for God it may only be God who understands and you must be willing to face the consequences of taking a stand for the
• 56:30 - 57:00 kingdom and don't let the things of the world glitter so brightly they blind you to that what saves you and so I close I've gone over my time 5 after 9 sorry make a commitment say Lord day by day help me to choose you and your work above everything else day by day now before you raise your hand take 10 minutes and think if if you really want to make this commitment you and your work above
• 57:00 - 57:30 everything and everyone how many will make that commitment can I see your right hand they're going up slowly I understand it's tough stand with me let's
• 57:30 - 58:00 pray Father in heaven have tried to present a rather challenging message where if I've done badly I ask you to go behind me now father and uh clean up my mess that the word may be very clear to those who've come to hear it the message is father that too many of us us are dazzled by the things of this
• 58:00 - 58:30 world it's like the woman of Revelation 12 representing the true church and a woman of Revelation 17 the Harlot that woman in 17 was decked in gold silver precious stone pearls she was glittering but she is the abomination of the earth we are too easily dazzled their God by the things of this life and so I ask you in the name of Jesus change the way we we see things change the list of priorities
• 58:30 - 59:00 there God that suck up our time and suck our best energies and let your work be our greatest joy as the disciples said to Christ in John 4:31 Master to eat and Jesus said I have meat to eat you know not of what sustained him was the work of God let that be the thing that sustains US ah Father in Heaven be with those who need to break off illicit illegal and sinful relationships give them the courage to
• 59:00 - 59:30 do it amen that they may save themselves a lifetime of Heartache God for those of us who are about to make a decision that will tie us up in a school for 10 years or some other thing give us insight into what you would have us to do that we may live lives that keep us always available for the work Lord I pass no judgment I am a sinner so I pray you'd be merciful to all of us clarify our thinking dear God let every choice every decision we make
• 59:30 - 60:00 be made in the light of your needs and the needs of the Gospel forgive our sins father and let this weekend not come to an abrupt end and then we move on to something else let's take the blessings we have garnered with us bless every man woman boy and girl bless every family represented father be with those who've made commitments to bring one person to Christ between now and April of 2013 help them send someone their way let the angels of spirit assist them in this Noble work of saving
• 60:00 - 60:30 people from the Flames of Hell bless the school as it teaches English somehow let it teach Christ bless the leadership of the Church De God we thank you for them give them the wisdom from above that their decisions May Advance the cause prepare me for my next mission which is two days from now in Bermuda give me the words to speak that lives may change keep me faithful father bless all preachers around the world in whose
• 60:30 - 61:00 heart is a desire to preach truth you speak through them and bless their work and father as we travel to our destinations now keep an eye on Satan de God he'd love to take some lives but you protect us as we go here this humble prayer father we offer it in jesus' name let all God's people say amen and amen God bless you be faithful in everything big and small especially the little things we tend to
• 61:00 - 61:30 overlook