The Lostness Monster

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SelfExpression
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Be REAL

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Be YOURSELF

Have YOU used those expressions before?

Whats inside you? YOU that you let out?

Who is the

I know that

nothing good dwells in me. . .

the ability. . .

I have the desire to do. . . right, but not I do not do the good I want. . . the

evil I do not want

is what I keep doing. . . sin. . . dwells within me. . . making me captive to the law of sin that dwells

in my members.
Romans 7:18-20, 23

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

(Job 14:4)

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: WHO can KNOW it?
Jer 17:9
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THE

Laodicean
Message
Revelation 3:14-22

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The Faithful and true Witness. . .

you say, I am

I know your deeds. . .

neither cold nor hot. . . lukewarm. . . rich. . . wealthy. . . you are have need of you nothing. . . wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. . . I [Jesus] advise you to buy from Me. . . eye to anoint your eyes so

do not know. . .
salve

that you may see. . .

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I do not see myself

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When our bathroom scale delivers bad news, we hop off and then on again, just to make sure we didn't misread the display or put too much pressure on one foot. When our scale delivers good news, we smile and head for the shower. By uncritically accepting evidence when it pleases us, and insisting on more when it doesn't, we subtly tip the scales in our favor. . . . Research suggests that the way we weigh ourselves in the bathroom is the way we weigh evidence outside it.

Daniel Gilbert, Psychologist, Harvard University, NY Times OP-ED, April 16, 2006.

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Whats the Point?

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understand

must

we

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be convinced

must

we

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We have charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. . .

Romans 3:9-19

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There is none righteous, not even one. . .

Romans 3:9-19

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none who understands. . .

Romans 3:9-19

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none who seeks after God. . .

Romans 3:9-19

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all have turned aside. . . become useless. . .

Romans 3:9-19

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none who does good. . . not even one. . .

Romans 3:9-19

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There is no fear of God before their eyes. . .

Romans 3:9-19

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so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. . .
Romans 3:9-19

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right conception of identity

wrong conception of identity

The Importance of Understanding What We Are

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Jesus did not come for the righteous!!

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance

Lk 5:31
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http://threeminutelifechange.com/components/com_fpss/images/SIN.jpg

The sense of need, the recognition of our poverty and sin, is the very rst condition of acceptance with God.
(COL 153)
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http://threeminutelifechange.com/components/com_fpss/images/SIN.jpg

We must know our real condition, or we shall not feel our need of Christs help. We must understand our danger, or we shall not ee to the refuge. We must feel the pain of our wounds, or we should not desire healing.
(COL 158)
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Until we really behold the horror of the pit [of sin] in whichwe lie, we can never properly appreciate Christs so-great salvation. In mans fallen condition we have the awful disease for which divine redemption is the only cure, and our estimation and valuation of the provisions of divine grace will necessarily be modied in proportion as we modify the need it was meant to meet.
(Arthur Pink)

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We must get to the:

Root Problem
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Human Depravity
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For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed. . . evil thoughts, fornications, thefts,
murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed

from within and dele the man.

Mark 7:21-23
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Through sin the whole human organism is deranged, the mind is perverted, the imagination corrupted. Sin has degraded the faculties of the soul. Temptations from without find an answering chord within the heart, and the feet turn imperceptibly toward evil.
Ministry of Healing, 451

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Moral derangement, which we call depravity, finds ample room to work, and an influence is exerted by men, women, and youth professing to be Christians that is low, sensual, devilish.
Letter 26d, 1887

http://www.willard.lib.mi.us/historical/bcphotos/individuals/images/h55_5331.jpg

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What do we mean by human depravity?

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Every faculty & power of body, soul, & mind is vitiated

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Our will, intellect, affections, and tendenciesare all tainted

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The faculties which men receive at birth have a carnal bias, an earthly trend, a distaste for the heavenly and divine, and are inclined only to selfish aims and groveling pursuits.

Arthur Pink

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What Are the Implications of Human Depravity?

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I. If the root is spoiled, then all our actions (even our good ones) are also spoiled

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Even the good we do may be tainted with improper motives

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Why?

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A. Prompted by seat/root of a polluted heart

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2. Not prompted by love to God

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3. Not motivated by a regard for Gods will

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II. Of ourselves, we are unable to do any act that secures Gods approval & satises His holy law

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III. Natural heart not inclined towards God

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IV. Unable to change fundamental preference for sin and self to love for God

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Cant even make an approach to such a change

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V. Were not born with innate Godcenteredness, but self-centeredness

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Adams problem was not simply that he sinned, but that sin so changed his instincts that they focused upon self, leaving him trapped by self-centered affections with no natural capacity for true love. . . sin is not primarily disobedient actions, but selfcenteredness that instinctively motivates pride, selshness, and myriad forms of sinful behavior.
Leroy Moore

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VI. Cannot fully understand Gods expectations/demands

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But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14

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VII. Powerless to do any spiritual good

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There is in [mans] nature a BENT to evil, a FORCE which unaided, he CANNOT resist.
(Education, 29)

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Will power has no power

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Our hearts are not in

our power.

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One of the deplorable effects of the original apostasy was the loss of mans power to govern his own heart. When there is a separation from the sources of your strength, when you are lifted up in pride, you cannot but transgress the law of your moral constitution.

8MR, 208 (Letter 10, 188): Letter to E.P. Daniels, April 1888

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Man cannot transform himself by the exercise of his will. He possesses no power by which this change can be effected.

Christ Object Lessons, 96

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Man [lost] his material freedom, that is,

the rational power to determine his course in the direction of the highest good, in harmony with the original moral constitution of his nature. Man has by nature an irresistible bias for evil. He is not able to apprehend and love spiritual excellence, to seek and do spiritual things, the things of God that pertain to salvation.
(Louis Berkhof)

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This is why Jesus said:

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Without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

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This is why Ellen White stated:

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No outward observance can take the place of simple faith and entire renunciation of selfWe can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak unchristlike self.

(Christ Object Lessons, p. 160)

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All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves.

(Christ Object Lessons, 159)

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Christ is the source of every right impulse. He is the only One that can implant in the heart enmity against sin. Every desire for truth and purity, every conviction of our own sinfulness, is an evidence that His Spirit is moving upon our hearts.
(Steps to Christ, 26)

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Gods Antidote for Human Depravity and Utter Inability

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Predestination?

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No, Prevenient Grace

healthhappinessandbeauty.com

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Gods Takes the 1st Initiative to Save Sinners

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No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.

John 6:44

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And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.
John 12:32

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Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
Romans 2:4
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What Is Prevenient Grace?

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grace that counteracts the effects of depravity & sin

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grace that enables the recipient to grasp the true meaning of gospel

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grace that leads/draws one to Christ

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grace that brings the sinner to the brink of salvation

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GRACE Prevenient (Operating) Co-operating (Subsequent)

vs.

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[Augustine] distinguished between operating or prevenient, and co-operating or subsequent grace. The former enables the will to choose the good, and the latter co-operates with the already enabled will, to do the good.

Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, p. 429.

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Ellen G. White & Prevenient Grace

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The First Step

"You cannot have a thought without Christ. You cannot have an inclination to come to Him unless He sets in motion inuences and impresses His Spirit upon the human mind. And if there is a man on the face of the earth who has any inclination toward God, it is because of the many inuences that are set to work to bear upon his mind and heart. . . . Then don't let us ever say that we can repent of ourselves, and then Christ will pardon. . .It is the favor of God that leads us by His power to repentance. Therefore, it is all of Jesus Christ, everything of Him, and you want to just give back glory to God.
Faith & Works, p. 73
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The First Step

Many are confused as to what constitutes the rst steps in the work of salvation. Repentance is thought to be a work the sinner must do for himself in order that he may come to Christ. . . yet the sinner cannot bring himself to repentance, or prepare himself to come to Christ. . . the question to be decided is as to whether repentance is the work of the sinner or the gift of Christ. . . The very rst step to Christ is taken through the drawing of the Spirit of God; as man responds to this drawing, he advances toward Christ in order that he may repent.
A New Life, p. 20

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The First Step

A lost sheep never returns to the fold unless he is sought after and brought back to the fold by the shepherd. No man of himself can repent, and make himself worthy. . . The Lord Jesus is constantly seeking to impress the sinner's mind and attract him to behold Himself, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. We cannot take a step toward spiritual life save as Jesus draws and strengthens the soul, and leads us to experience that repentance which needeth not to be repented of. . .

A New Life, p. 21

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Prevenient Grace
First step Drawing/
attracting of the Spirit bringing back

Impressing/

inuencing of mind soul

Strengthening of Leading to
repentance

Seeking after/

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Why Is This Message SO Important?

anthonydoes.wordpress.com

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1. We need to be convinced of sin.

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2. We need to stop trying to be good enough

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Good enough to go to church

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Good enough to go to Christ

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We go to Jesus because were not good enough!! Because of our great need!

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3. We understand that salvation is not attained through behavior modication

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There are many who try to reform bad habit, and they hope in this way to become Christians, but they are beginning in the wrong place. Our rst work is with the heart.
COL 97

by correcting this or that

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3. Its the key to ending our judgmental attitude. We become compassionate, sympathetic to others, because at the core we are all the same.

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3. It is then, that the Holy Spirit can be poured out

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"When we feel our utter nothingness, that Christ sees for Him to give us His Spirit."
MS 8, 1886

it is then
it is time

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