Participants: David Shin
Series Code: 11POFCM
Program Code: 11POFCM000002
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00:39 Live from the 3ABN Worship Center
00:42 welcome to the Pillars of our Faith event. 00:48 Well I want to welcome every one of you back 00:50 to this second hour of... How many speakers did we 00:54 tell you we were going to have? 23. 00:56 There are 23 sermons that we are going to have 00:59 over the up-coming weekend. 01:02 And are y'all excited about that? Amen. 01:04 God is going to bless us! When we leave here 01:07 Saturday night... it's over Saturday night at 9 o'clock... 01:10 we will be so full spiritually. 01:14 But don't you expect that we might be totally exhausted 01:16 physically? But it's worth it! 01:19 And I would like to go over with you all the speakers 01:23 that we're going to have. 01:24 And you know, some of them are already in the house! 01:26 Some of them are on the way. 01:28 And something I would like for you to do 01:30 is pray for everyone that's on the road... 01:32 all of these speakers that are on the road. 01:35 We've already said that we know that God's holy presence 01:38 is here; God's blessing is here. 01:40 But don't you know the enemy wants to fight us. 01:43 So let's pray for our speakers that they... 01:45 You know, as the Holy Spirit touches them 01:48 and as they present their messages, oh, let's pray 01:52 that our hearts are open to receive every word 01:54 and then that we'll be doers of the Word and not hearers. 01:57 Isn't that a good thing for us to pray? 01:59 Well let's go over our list of speakers. 02:01 David Asscherick was going to be with us 02:04 and you know, he's been coming to 3ABN for nine years... 02:06 never once has he had to cancel. 02:08 But just in the last couple of days he had to cancel on us. 02:11 But I don't want you to be discouraged one bit over that. 02:14 There's still 22 others that are going to be speaking here. 02:18 Stephen Bohr is with us 02:21 and as well as John Bradshaw. 02:24 John Bradshaw, of course, is the Speaker/Director 02:27 of It is Written. C.D. Brooks is going to be with us. 02:30 Amen to that! 02:32 Of course, our own Pastor Gilley. 02:34 Didn't he just do an incredible job? 02:36 John Lomacang, who is the pastor of the Thompsonville SDA Church, 02:41 our pastor. Then Pastor C.A. Murray will be 02:44 preaching next. Well, not in this hour but in the next hour. 02:49 And then Dr. Leslie Pollard. He's the president 02:52 of Oakwood University. 02:54 Our own Shelley Quinn is going to be speaking. 02:56 We had to have one beautiful blonde in the mix 02:59 of all of these men, didn't we? 03:01 And then Dr. Calvin Rock is going to be with us. 03:05 Jay Rosario, Kenny Shelton. 03:07 And our next speaker is David Shin. 03:10 But let me mention the musicians or those that are going 03:12 to share with us in music. 03:14 Tammy Chance. Now Tammy is one of my favorite 03:17 singers. She sings with such a gentle compassion 03:21 for people and I appreciate her so much. 03:24 Melody Firestone is with us. 03:26 Yvonne Lewis who is going to sing here in just a moment. 03:29 Pastor John Lomacang, C.A. Murray, Tim Parton, 03:32 Danny Shelton. And our all time favorite... 03:36 Danny Shelton, who is one of the most blessed men 03:41 that I have met. He... God has graced him 03:45 and blessed him and anointed him 03:47 and I'm always inspired when I hear him speak 03:49 or when I hear him sing. 03:51 And then Reggie and Ladye Love Smith are with us. 03:54 Those... How many of you were blessed by their ministry 03:58 on the Pillars of our Faith CD? 04:01 Well, they are with us again this year. 04:03 Jim and Pam Rhodes are with us. Kristin Wilkinson is with us. 04:07 But David Shin is our next speaker. 04:11 I want to tell you a little about him. 04:12 Um, he pastors two churches: 04:15 one in East Lansing, Michigan, 04:18 and one in Williamson, Michigan. 04:20 Uh, he also... I asked him in the green room 04:24 a few minutes ago: "Tell me a little about yourself. " 04:26 And you know where his passion was? 04:28 He says that he lives about two blocks from the campus. 04:32 And there's about 45,000 students on the campus. 04:35 It's Michigan State University. 04:37 And he told about going out door to door 04:40 and giving 100 Bible studies 04:42 and the people that have come to the Lord as a result of that. 04:45 He's a young man. He looks much younger, evidently, 04:48 than he is because he's been married for 3-1/2 years 04:51 to Tinelle. And he is just... 04:53 How many of you have heard Pastor Shin preach before? 04:56 He is just a firecracker. 04:57 He just does... And you know, our church... 05:00 we need these young eagles that are coming up, don't we? 05:04 And we appreciate them so much. 05:06 But before Pastor Shin comes, 05:08 Yvonne Lewis is going to come and minister a beautiful song 05:11 to us. And you know, I only got to know Yvonne 05:15 over the last few months. 05:18 I know she's come to 3ABN for a few times. 05:22 But I really got to know her. And the longer I know her 05:25 the more I appreciate her. 05:26 She has such a passion for souls. 05:30 Such a passion to minister to people that... that need a touch 05:33 from the Lord. She's the general manager of our Dare to Dream 05:37 Network, our urban network 05:39 that's going into darkened areas and touching souls. 05:42 And Yvonne, I appreciate you so much 05:44 and I know that you have a heart for these people now 05:48 as you minister in song to them. God bless you. 05:50 Thank you, Mollie. 06:10 I heard He walked on water 06:14 and opened blinded eyes. 06:19 The deaf were made to hear again 06:24 and the dead were called to rise. 06:27 Oh, but when I gave Him all my heart 06:33 a greater thing took place. 06:37 The Lord of every miracle 06:42 redeemed me by His grace. 06:48 And wonders never cease 06:53 as long as I believe 06:57 and place my life within the nail-scarred hands 07:03 that bled for me. 07:06 And when I think I've seen His best 07:11 I stand amazed to see 07:17 His glory never ends 07:23 and wonders 07:26 never cease. 07:43 He still walks on water 07:49 to calm my troubled sea. 07:52 And in the midst of thunder 07:57 I can hear Him speaking peace. 08:00 And though so many 08:04 of His miracles are just part of yesterday 08:10 I'm living proof His changing power 08:15 has never passed away. 08:22 And wonders never cease 08:27 as long as I believe 08:31 and place my life within the nail-scarred hands 08:36 that bled for me. 08:40 And when I think I've seen His best 08:44 I stand amazed to see... 08:49 oh... 08:51 His glory never ends. 08:57 Oh, 09:00 Wonders never cease 09:05 as long as I believe 09:09 and I place my hand within the nail-scarred hands 09:15 that bled for me. 09:18 And when I think I've seen His best 09:23 I stand amazed to see 09:29 His glory never ends. 09:36 Wonders never cease. 09:42 Oh, His glory never ends 09:49 and wonders never 09:54 cease. 10:15 Amen. 10:28 Good evening. Good evening. 10:31 Let's bow our heads together as we pray. 10:35 Our Father in heaven, 10:37 We thank you for this Pillars of Faith weekend. 10:43 We thank you for the privilege and opportunity 10:45 that we have to come apart from the cares of this life 10:49 to meditate upon You and Your holy Word. 10:55 And this evening as we spend a few moments 10:59 studying about Your church - 11:03 Your precious people, the body and the bride of Christ - 11:08 we pray that You would speak to each one of our hearts. 11:13 We pray that Jesus would be uplifted. 11:16 That people would recognize that you do have a visible 11:20 church here on earth. 11:24 We pray that Your Holy Spirit would speak to each one of our 11:28 hearts. For we ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. 11:34 Tonight's topic is the church. 11:38 And I want to tell you as a young person, 11:42 as a young adult, when you mention the word 11:46 church in today's society - depending on which circles 11:50 you go to - there's a myriad of different responses 11:54 that you receive when you mention the word church. 11:57 Isn't that right? 11:58 I remember I used to go canvassing door to door. 12:01 I would sell books and go all throughout the country. 12:04 And it was amazing how I would go to certain communities 12:09 and I would share with them these wonderful books. 12:12 And they would say: "David... " They would stop me 12:14 at a certain moment and say: "David, I want you to stop 12:16 right there. Is this religious material 12:19 and do you go to church? " 12:22 And I would say: "Yes! " 12:24 And it was amazing how fast that door would shut. 12:29 Just boom! 12:32 And if you were to go to a person on the street 12:34 today and ask them the fundamental question 12:37 "What adjective do you think of 12:42 when I mention the word church? " 12:45 I think that you would not be surprised to find 12:48 some of these names. Words like 12:53 hypocrites. 12:56 FULL of hypocrites. 12:59 Uninformed. 13:03 Naive. 13:05 Boring. 13:08 If you were to ask them "What emotion do you feel? " 13:12 when you mention the word church, they would say things 13:16 like anger, hurt, apathy, 13:20 feelings of distrust. 13:25 It's very unfortunate today that we live in a society 13:29 in which the word church has a certain tag, a certain stigma 13:32 that is associated with the word church. 13:34 We live in a day and age where the word church 13:38 is almost radioactive, isn't that right? 13:44 Sad to say, there's another movement within the church... 13:49 there's a distrust of organized religion. 13:52 We stress independence and individuality. 13:57 It's between me and God. 14:00 Now I believe that has an element of truth, 14:03 but I'd like to present here today that the Bible presents 14:06 a relationship not only between Christ and the individual 14:09 but also between Christ and the corporate body: 14:13 i. e. the church. 14:20 Today as a reaction to some of these things in society 14:23 church has taken the perspective of being a 14:25 consumer operation. 14:29 There has been a paradigm shift to where people go to church 14:34 to see what they can get out of church 14:36 rather than what you bring to God in worship. 14:43 Church has become a place where I get "benefits" 14:47 instead of a place where I'm going to give glory to God. 14:54 There's narcissism that has crept into the church 14:57 and it has gone from being God-centered 15:01 to becoming human-centered. 15:04 This is a society that we live in today. 15:09 And with all the faults, with all the foibles, 15:13 with all of the idiosyncrasies that our church today has, 15:17 Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25 says: 15:21 "Christ also loved the church. " Can you say Amen? 15:26 Amen. "Christ also loved the church 15:29 and gave Himself for her. " 15:32 That with all the problems that are in the church today: 15:35 all the "hypocrites, " all the idiosyncrasies 15:38 and all the things that are wrong with God's church, 15:43 it is still the apple of God's eye. Can you say Amen? 15:46 God still has a visible church on earth today. 15:50 This is from the magazine Signs of the Times, 15:52 July 13, 1904. I love this statement. 15:56 "To God the dearest object on earth 16:00 is His church. 16:04 For thus saith the Lord of Hosts: 16:05 'After the glory has sent Me unto the nations 16:09 which spoiled you, for He that toucheth you... ' 16:12 listen to this: 'for He that toucheth you 16:14 toucheth the apple of His eye. ' " 16:19 This is a fundamental belief in scripture. 16:21 There is a doctrine of the church: the organized body 16:25 of Christ. And Paul uses this analogy, 16:28 this metaphor, to describe the church. 16:30 Colossians chapter 1 verse 18: 16:32 "And He - Christ - is the head of the body - 16:37 the church. " Paul is trying to describe the nature 16:41 of the church and he's trying to think of a metaphor that 16:43 would illustrate the relationship of Christ 16:46 and the church. And he's thinking in his mind 16:47 and he's trying to write down this metaphor. And he says: 16:50 "Ah, I got it. The relationship between Christ 16:53 and the church is just like the human head 16:56 to the human body. " 16:58 I want you to think about that relationship 17:00 because so many times in society today 17:02 people put the church over here 17:04 and Christ way over there. 17:06 They are separate entities. 17:08 But the Bible presents this picture of the head 17:11 and the body. Now, if you sever your foot 17:15 or your toe, life still can exist. 17:20 But if you sever your head... 17:23 that's an execution. 17:27 They are together. 17:28 They are distinct but they are inseparable. 17:33 Paul goes on in Colossians chapter 1 verse 24: 17:36 "What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ 17:39 for the sake of His body which is the church. " 17:46 Ephesians chapter 5 verse 23: 17:49 "Christ is the head of the church. 17:54 He is the Savior of the body. " 18:00 Now I've heard this in some circles: 18:03 "Why can't I just be baptized into Christ? " 18:06 "Why do I have to be baptized into a body, into a church? " 18:10 "Where in the Bible is this concept that when you're 18:13 baptized you're baptized into membership, 18:16 into an organized church? " 18:18 I take them to Ephesians chapter 4 verse 5. 18:21 The Bible is very clear: 18:22 "For by one Spirit... " Notice the language here 18:25 in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 5: 18:26 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized... " 18:30 Notice the operative word here. 18:31 "We were all baptized into one body. " 18:35 The Bible presents this very clear picture that membership, 18:39 that when you are baptized you are baptized into an 18:41 organized body: THE CHURCH. 18:45 And that the way we become a part of God's church 18:50 or a part of Christ's I should say 18:52 is by being baptized into the church: the body of Christ. 18:57 Paul goes on: "Whether Jews or Greeks, 19:01 whether slaves or free, 19:03 and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. " 19:09 Now I want you to notice the language here. 19:13 It says: "By one Spirit we were all baptized 19:16 into one body. " 19:21 One body. 19:25 Have you ever opened a phone book before? 19:29 Someone out there is like "I feel the Holy Spirit 19:32 speaking to me. I want to go to church. " 19:35 So they go to the Cs in the yellow pages. 19:38 Not a lot of people use yellow pages today, by the way. 19:40 They Google it. 19:41 And so they get on Google and the put churches 19:44 in Thompsonville or East Lansing or wherever you are. 19:47 And it's just like a smorgasbord; 19:50 it's like going to the buffet. 19:52 And you go down through the Cs 19:54 and there are so many different churches. 19:57 Many people wonder why there are so many denominations 20:00 today. This is a fair question. 20:02 After all, there is just one Bible. 20:04 I want you to think about this: one Bible, 20:06 one Savior, one God. 20:09 Then why is it that there is over 1,000 denominations 20:14 in the world today? 20:16 How do we get to this point? 20:18 It is so confusing that the average person 20:21 by some point just puts up their hands and says 20:24 "Forget it; I'm just going to worship the Lord at home! 20:26 Have home church. " 20:27 And people ask the question: 20:29 "Is it ever possible to find the truth? " 20:35 I'd like to present this simple principle: 20:38 you go to the Bible to find out what the truth is. 20:42 Amen? Amen. 20:44 And you find a church teaching in harmony with the Bible... 20:48 not the other way around. 20:50 And so I'd like to present here this evening: 20:55 how many churches did Jesus establish when He left earth? 21:00 One. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 25 through 32 21:04 reveals the same thing. 21:05 Jesus gave Himself for THE CHURCH, 21:09 singular, definite article. 21:11 This is an essential point to grasp. 21:14 How did we get to the point today where we have 21:17 over a myriad - over 1,000 denominations - 21:20 in the world today 21:22 when Ephesians chapter 4 verse 5 says: "One Lord, 21:26 one faith, and one baptism? " 21:31 I'd like to invite you to turn with me in your Bibles 21:33 here this evening. The first metaphor that the Bible uses 21:37 is the body of Christ. Christ is the head; 21:40 we are the body. I'd like to invite you to go to 21:43 another symbol in the Bible that describes 21:46 the church of Christ, and that's found in 21:47 Revelation chapter 12. 21:49 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 1. 21:55 The Bible describes another symbol of the church: 21:59 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 1. 22:04 "Now a great sign appeared in heaven: 22:07 a woman clothed with the sun 22:11 and the moon under her feet 22:14 and on her head a garland of twelve stars. " 22:17 Revelation 12 describes a chaste, beautiful 22:21 and virtuous woman. I want you to notice the nature 22:24 of the symbols that Revelation chapter 12 verse 1 22:27 uses. It says that she is standing on the what? 22:29 She is standing on the moon. 22:31 She is clothed with the sun and she has a garland 22:35 of twelve stars. The only way we get light here on earth 22:38 apart from man-made light is the sun and the moon 22:42 and the stars. This woman is clothed with light. 22:46 The Bible describes the church as being a woman. 22:51 You can see that in Jeremiah chapter 6 verse 2 22:54 and II Corinthians 11 verse 2. 22:56 And so here in the metanarrative of the book of Revelation 23:00 you see here in the beginning of this panoramic picture 23:04 that God depicts the church as being a beautiful woman 23:08 clothed in light, 23:11 clothed in truth, and clothed in purity. 23:15 This is one woman. 23:17 And yet the fundamental question that people have asked is 23:20 or I ask here tonight: 23:22 is Jesus Christ a polygamist? 23:26 Here we have the bride of Jesus... the church. 23:31 One woman, clothed in light. 23:34 And yet people when they go to look for a church 23:37 there are myriad of churches in the phone book today. 23:41 I want us to go to a contrasting picture 23:44 in Revelation chapter 17. 23:47 Revelation chapter 17 and verse 3. 23:51 Revelation chapter 12 presents a woman clothed with light. 23:55 In Revelation chapter 17 and verse 3 we have another woman 23:58 that is the exact opposite 24:02 of the woman in Revelation chapter 12. 24:03 Revelation chapter 17 verse 3. 24:06 "So he carried me into the wilderness 24:08 and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast 24:13 which was full of the names of blasphemy, 24:17 having seven heads and ten horns. " 24:19 Now in Bible prophecy a beast represents a political power. 24:23 And this woman is doing what? She is sitting on this beast. 24:28 Now if I sit on a horse - 24:31 well not me... but someone more trained that I am... 24:35 an equestrian, all right? - 24:37 if an equestrian sits on a horse the equestrian is dominating. 24:42 Is leading the horse. 24:44 And so you see here a woman, a church, 24:47 dominating a political power. 24:49 There's a union there between church and state. 24:52 Verse 4: "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet 24:56 and adorned with gold and precious stones 24:59 and pearls and having in her hand a golden cup 25:02 full of the abomination and the filthiness 25:06 of her fornication. 25:08 And on her forehead a name was written: 25:11 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, 25:15 THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS 25:19 OF THE EARTH. " 25:21 I want you to notice the contrast. 25:23 In Revelation chapter 12 we have the epitome of purity 25:27 and light. A woman clothed with the sun, 25:29 the moon under her feet, on her head a garland 25:31 of twelve stars. And in Revelation chapter 17 25:35 we have a woman who in three times... 25:37 In Revelation chapter 17 the word fornication 25:40 is mentioned three times to describe this woman. 25:44 It actually says "the filthiness of her fornication. " 25:48 So here you have a woman: purity - Revelation chapter 12. 25:52 Impurity - Revelation chapter 17. 25:57 I want you to notice something else about this woman. 26:00 She is a mother. 26:04 In other words, she has daughters. 26:09 One side... pure church, singular. 26:14 The other side - Revelation chapter 17- 26:16 a mother with daughters. 26:18 You have churches... plural. 26:21 Everyone following here this evening? 26:23 Purity... singular; impurity... plural. 26:27 And I want you to notice that on her forehead is written 26:29 the name Babylon which means confusion. 26:34 That's what you experience when you open the yellow pages today: 26:37 confusion. 26:39 There's a cacophony of noise today 26:43 in Christendom, and I want you to... 26:46 remind each one of you that the daughters look similar 26:49 in their respective... to their respective mothers... 26:52 yet they are not identical. 26:54 In short, end-time Babylon has fallen: 26:58 an unfaithful group of churches which adhere to the teachings 27:02 and the doctrines and the commandments of men 27:05 and yet ignore the plain teachings of the Word of God. 27:10 Thus they create a confusion- laden environment. 27:15 End-time Babylon is the churches fallen... 27:18 she is not the bride of Christ. 27:24 I want to dwell a little bit more on this concept of Babylon. 27:27 This is a Babylonian bride. 27:30 Even though Babylon was never inhabited again 27:34 after its fall, even though Saddam Hussein tried to 27:37 rebuild Babylon, it is never rebuilt to this day 27:41 according to the prophecy of Isaiah. 27:42 Babylon is the center... or was the center... of 27:47 image worship. This is from Dr. Alexander Hislop 27:50 in the book The Two Babylons. 27:53 And he says: "Babylon was the primal source from which all the 27:56 systems of idolatry flowed. " 28:00 So when each and every kingdom came into being, 28:03 Medo-Persia conquered Babylon, they took many of the customs 28:07 and the idols from the previous kingdom. 28:08 When Greece came along they did the same thing. 28:11 When Rome came along, they were known for polytheism. 28:14 They thought the more the better. 28:16 And could it be today that some of the pagan rites 28:19 all the way from ancient Babylon have been infused 28:23 and injected into Christendom today? 28:27 Not only was Babylon the center of image worship 28:30 but it was also the center of sun worship as well. 28:34 This is from The Worship of Nature. Dr. James G. Frazer says 28:39 "In ancient Babylonia the sun was worshiped 28:43 from immemorial antiquity. " 28:46 So here we have it: 28:48 the center of sun worship and the center of image worship. 28:55 Here are some clues that we can derive about identifying 29:00 ancient Babylon. Nine clues. 29:01 Number 1: It's a church. 29:05 Number 2: It's an area of many nations. 29:09 Number 3: According to Revelation chapter 17 29:12 it's a city. 29:14 Number 4: It rules over kings. 29:17 It's set on seven mountains or hills. 29:20 It's clothed with purple and scarlet. 29:23 It is rich; it persecutes; and it blasphemes. 29:29 I want to dwell a little bit on the colors here this evening. 29:33 I want you to notice that it is dressed in the same 29:36 exact colors as the priests of the Old Testament: 29:40 purple and scarlet. 29:42 But there's one color that is missing. It is the color blue. 29:47 This is an intentional omission because in the Bible 29:50 blue represents a significant symbol for something 29:54 very specific found in the Old Testament. 29:56 I want to invite you to turn with me to Numbers chapter 15 29:59 and verse 37. 30:01 The Israelites were instructed very specifically 30:04 to include the color blue in their garments. 30:08 This is from Numbers chapter 15 and verse 37. 30:12 Moses spoke to the children of Israel 30:16 and instructed them in this manner regarding 30:19 a specific color that was to be included 30:21 in the tassels of their garments. 30:23 Numbers chapter 16... 15 verse 37. 30:28 "And again the Lord spoke to Moses saying: 30:32 'Speak to the children of Israel. 30:35 Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments 30:39 throughout their generations and to put a... ' 30:42 What color? 'a blue thread 30:45 in the tassels of their corners. ' " 30:47 This is a very specific command by God Himself 30:50 to Moses and said when they were to weave their clothing, 30:54 to make their clothing, they were to include 30:56 the color blue in the form of a thread 30:58 in the tassels of their corners. 31:00 Why? In verse 39 it gives us the answer. 31:03 "And you shall have the tassels that you may look upon it 31:06 and remember" what? 31:08 "and remember all the commandments of the Lord 31:11 and do them that you may not follow in the harlotry 31:15 to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined. " 31:19 So the Israelites when they are going through their day 31:21 and they looked at their blue tassels they were to 31:23 remember to keep the commandments of God. 31:26 And here in Revelation chapter 17 31:28 the woman is clothed with the exact same colors 31:32 of the priests of the Old Testament except 31:34 for the color blue. 31:36 This is an implication that the woman of Revelation chapter 17 31:42 purports to be a priest - 31:44 God's representative - but is missing the color blue. 31:49 The author of Revelation is communicating 31:52 that this is an unfaithful church that has forgotten 31:55 the commandments of God. 31:57 Clearly she cannot be the true bride of Christ 32:01 because the end-time church keeps the commandments of God 32:04 and has the testimony of Jesus. 32:08 So just as a review: Revelation chapter 12. 32:10 The pure church, clothed with the sun. 32:13 The moon under her feet. The garland of twelve stars: 32:15 the symbol of light and purity. 32:17 Revelation chapter 17. A myriad of churches. 32:20 A woman, a harlot, with her daughters. 32:24 A symbol of impurity. Not keeping the commandments of God. 32:27 And in Revelation chapter 18 and verse 2 32:30 we have the most stark warning I believe in all of 32:34 the scriptures... yet a message of hope. 32:38 Revelation chapter 18 verse 2: "And he cried mightily 32:41 with a loud voice saying: 'Babylon the great is fallen 32:45 is fallen. ' And I heard another voice come from heaven 32:48 saying: 'Come out of her My people. ' " 32:53 This is a beautiful message because even though Babylon 32:57 is about to fall, Babylon IS FALLEN, 33:00 God says that His people are still in Babylon. 33:05 The reason is: "Lest you share in her sins 33:07 and lest you receive of her plagues. " 33:11 Revelation chapter 18 verses 1 through 5 is 33:14 God calling His people out of end-time Babylon. 33:18 God claims the people of the systems that teach error 33:22 and ignore the plain teachings of the Bible 33:25 are disavowed. 33:27 I want you to notice that the Bible is very clear 33:31 that Babylon is not to be reformed but to be left. 33:36 God is calling His people out of Babylon. 33:42 One commentator says: "The first justification of the woman 33:46 is in her being called out of Babylon the harlot. " 33:50 When judgment is about to fall her apostate Christendom 33:54 Babylon is not to be converted but to be destroyed. 33:58 In every apostate or world- loving or world-conforming 34:03 church there are some of God's invisible and God's true church 34:07 who if they would be saved must come out. " 34:14 This is what I believe to be the final warning 34:19 to go out before the world. 34:21 And yet the fundamental question comes to each one of us 34:24 here tonight: if God is calling His people out of Babylon, 34:29 He must be calling them out of something into what? 34:35 Isn't that right? 34:37 If God is calling His people out of Babylon and He says: 34:40 "My people are out of Babylon, " 34:42 He must be calling them into something. 34:44 Something visible... His visible church in the end of time. 34:48 And could it be that as we approach the second coming 34:52 of Jesus that God is calling us press together 34:55 as never before? We're not to be out there doing our own thing 34:59 but God is calling an end-time movement together. 35:03 He's calling them into His visible church. 35:09 God's end-time church will uphold the teachings and the 35:12 commandments of God over the teachings and traditions 35:15 of men. It will uphold the divine law 35:18 as a great moral standard. 35:20 Does God have a church on earth today? 35:23 The answer must be yes. 35:26 If the answer is no, 35:28 then Jesus was wrong when He said: "The gates of hell 35:31 will not prevail against her. " 35:33 Jesus wasn't wrong. He wasn't lying. 35:37 His church is still alive. 35:39 And amidst the confusion and the fallenness 35:42 of the contemporary religious environment 35:44 she upholds God's Word, God's law, 35:47 and most importantly God's gospel. Amen. 35:51 And so very quickly here this evening 35:54 I'd like to identify some characteristics 35:57 of God's visible church here on earth. 36:01 Number 1: It will recapture the pure faith 36:05 of God's disciples. 36:08 If you're looking for a church today 36:10 you're looking for a group of people that hold to the same 36:15 exact characteristics as the disciples. 36:18 The Bible calls it the remnant. 36:20 Now I don't sew... I'm not a seamstress. 36:24 But I hear that when you go to a fabric store 36:27 there is a remnant bin. Isn't that right? 36:29 For those of you that sew... 36:31 Let's say you go to the remnant bin, 36:32 and in the remnant bin is a black cloth 36:35 that has polka dots and inside the polka dot 36:38 is a red square. Can you see that in your mind? 36:41 A black cloth, a white polka dot, and a red square. 36:45 You're like... I'm going to try to find 36:47 the larger piece of cloth. And so you're going through 36:50 the fabric store. You're looking for a black cloth 36:53 with a white polka dot with a red square. 36:55 And you come to another piece of clothing and it's a... 36:57 and it's a black polka dot with a... 37:00 I don't even know what I'm talking about here today... 37:01 But it's a black cloth with a white polka dot. 37:05 It has to match the exact same characteristics. 37:08 In Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17 the Bible says 37:11 that they will "keep the commandments of God 37:13 and have the testimony of Jesus. " 37:16 The end-time movement will be a renaissance 37:19 of the exact same characteristics as the apostles. 37:23 Number 2: Segueing into number 1, have the dual 37:29 characteristics of keeping the commandments of God 37:31 and having the testimony of Jesus as well. 37:36 Revelation chapter 12 verse 17 says 37:39 that the testimony of Jesus is one of the characteristics. 37:42 Revelation chapter 19 verse 10 37:44 says: "The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. " 37:50 These two characteristics are linked together. 37:53 You need to find a church that keeps all ten of 37:57 God's commandments including the Bible Sabbath 37:59 and has the gift of prophecy as well. 38:02 We'll expound on that in a minute. 38:05 It will be - Number 3- a world-wide, mission-driven 38:09 movement. In other words, it's not just going to be 38:13 a group of people in Guyana somewhere, 38:16 locally-based, locally-driven. 38:19 This is going to be a world-wide mission-driven movement. 38:24 How do we know that? Matthew chapter 28 verses 19-20 38:26 gives the gospel commission. 38:29 "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, 38:32 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 38:35 in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. 38:39 Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you 38:43 and lo, I am with you always, 38:46 even to the end of the age. " 38:49 The Bible presents that the last-day church will be 38:52 a global, mission-driven movement. 38:56 Number 4: It will be Christ-centered. 38:58 It will call all people to a total commitment 39:02 to Jesus Christ. 39:03 Number 5: It will lead people to the Bible Sabbath. 39:08 They will keep all ten of God's commandments 39:11 including the Bible Sabbath. 39:12 I want to remind us of some verses here tonight. 39:14 Genesis chapter 2:2-3. Before there was any Jew 39:17 on planet earth - Adam was not a Jew, by the way - 39:21 at the end of creation - Genesis chapter 2:2-3- 39:24 "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done 39:28 and He rested on the seventh day 39:31 from all His work which He had done. 39:33 Then God blessed the seventh day 39:36 and sanctified it 39:38 because in it He had rested from all His work 39:42 which God had created and made. " 39:45 I want to notice three simple things here tonight. 39:48 God blessed the seventh day. 39:49 He sanctified it. 39:51 And He rested on the seventh day. 39:54 Now if you had a room and all the churches were symbolically 39:58 there and you were to say: "All the Sabbath-keeping churches 40:01 please stand up, " 40:03 I think that it would be a simple equation 40:06 because there'll be only a few churches standing. 40:09 God has made it very simple. 40:11 In order to find the true church 40:13 they need to keep all ten of God's commandments 40:15 including the memorial of creation which is the Bible 40:20 Sabbath. Amen. It was given at creation. 40:23 It was given and re-instituted at Sinai 40:29 in the Ten Commandments. 40:30 It was kept by His people. 40:32 It was kept by Jesus. 40:34 It was honored by the disciples. 40:36 It's a sign of God's power according to Ezekiel. 40:39 It will be kept in the New Earth. 40:42 Now logic would have it: if it's instituted at creation; 40:46 it's kept all throughout the Bible; 40:48 Jesus kept the Sabbath; 40:50 the apostles kept the Sabbath; 40:52 we'll keep the Sabbath in heaven; 40:54 isn't it only logical that we should be keeping the Sabbath 40:57 right now? Amen. 40:59 God will have a community of faith in the end of time 41:02 that will be a commandment- keeping people 41:05 which includes the seventh-day Sabbath. 41:08 Number six: It will encourage people to give their bodies 41:13 to Him. I Corinthians chapter 6 verse 20. 41:17 "For you were bought at a price. 41:20 Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit 41:24 which are God's. " 41:26 God's end-time message will be a holistic message 41:29 that not only includes the uplifting of the spiritual 41:33 nature but also the physical nature as well. 41:36 I Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31: 41:39 "Therefore whether you eat or drink 41:41 or whatever you do, do all 41:44 to the glory of God. " 41:46 Number 7: It will make a final appeal 41:50 to accept the truth. 41:54 This final message is encompassed in 41:56 Revelation chapter 14 verses 6 and 7. 41:59 "Then I saw another angel flying the midst of heaven 42:03 having the everlasting gospel to preach to those 42:07 who dwell on the earth - 42:09 to every nation, every tribe, 42:11 every tongue and people. 42:13 Saying with a loud voice: 'Fear God and give glory to Him 42:17 for the hour of His judgment has come. 42:19 And worship Him who made the heaven, the earth, 42:23 the sea, and the springs of water. ' " 42:27 God's church is not in the majority. 42:32 God's church is not always the most popular. 42:36 God's church is not always the most spectacular, 42:39 and God's church does not need the approval of the popular 42:45 religious leaders today. 42:47 And so when we look for a church 42:50 we do not always have to look for the most dazzling 42:52 or the most brightest or the church with the largest 42:55 architecture, but we need to go to the Bible to find 42:58 these Biblical characteristics and then find a church 43:01 that matches those characteristics as well. 43:06 As we go to truth... 43:08 as we go to the Bible to find these truths, 43:10 the truth beckons us to follow it. 43:14 It burns in our souls. 43:17 It frees our mind from error. 43:20 It demands that we take a stand. 43:26 Now, this evening I'd like to 43:30 ask some questions that people have when we talk about 43:34 an organized body or a church. 43:36 And as a pastor I've had to address some of these questions. 43:40 And one question that I get many times is this one: 43:46 "Why do I see so many people problems in the church? " 43:52 I baptize someone every year - 43:57 a host of individuals throughout my ministry by God's grace - 44:02 and it seems like when they go down into the water 44:04 and they come up the other side 44:06 they are rejoicing in the truth they've found, 44:09 they're rejoicing in the community of faith 44:11 that they've found, and they almost come out the other side 44:14 with rose-colored glasses. Perhaps you've experienced 44:16 this before. And they imagine and I believe that 44:20 the Holy Spirit for a time puts blinders on their eyes. 44:23 But it's only a matter of a few weeks 44:25 into post-baptism or perhaps even before 44:29 because they have this mentality that when they enter into the 44:32 church they are entering into the gates of heaven. 44:35 And it's only a matter of a few Sabbaths 44:40 that they start looking around 44:43 or they start looking at the pastor. 44:46 Have mercy! 44:47 Or they look at the church elder. 44:50 Or they look at that dear sister sitting in the pew 44:53 and they notice that these people are very human. 44:57 They start noticing faults... problems. 45:02 And heaven forbid, sometimes they are even hurt. 45:07 Why is it that there are people problems 45:10 in the church? After all, isn't this God's church? 45:13 Isn't this the woman of Revelation chapter 12? 45:16 Clothed with the sun: the symbol of epitome 45:20 of light and purity? 45:22 In Matthew chapter 13 verses 24-30 I'd like to 45:26 invite you to turn with me there. This is 45:28 a principle that the Bible presents 45:31 for God's church on earth today. 45:34 It's the parable of the wheat and the tares. 45:39 Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 through 30. 45:47 "Another parable He put forth to them saying: 45:50 The kingdom of heaven is like a man 45:52 who sowed good seed in his field. 45:56 And while the man slept his enemy came 45:59 and sowed tares among them... 46:01 and the wheat... among the wheat and went his way. 46:07 And when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop 46:10 then tares also appeared. 46:13 So the servant of the owner came and said to him: 46:16 Sir, did you now sow good seed in your field? 46:19 How does it now have tares? 46:22 And he said to them: an enemy has done this. 46:25 Then the servant said to him: 46:26 Do you want us to then go and gather them up? 46:29 But he said: No, lest while you gather up the tares 46:33 you also uproot the wheat with them. " 46:36 I want you to notice verse 30, this is very important. 46:39 "Let them grow... " what? "Let them grow together 46:44 until the harvest. And at the time of harvest 46:47 I will say to the reapers: first gather together the 46:50 tares and bind them in bundles and burn them 46:53 and gather the wheat in my barns. " 46:56 I want you to notice that in this parable 46:58 there are the wheat and the tares, and they are to 47:00 grow together until the time of harvest. 47:03 I want to skip down to verse 36 in which Jesus 47:05 explains the wheat and the tares. Let's go very quickly 47:08 to verse 36. "Then Jesus sent the multitude 47:10 away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him 47:13 and said: 'Explain to us the parable of the tares 47:16 of the field. ' And He said to them: 47:19 'He who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 47:22 The field is the world. 47:23 The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom 47:25 but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 47:28 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. 47:30 The harvest is at the end of the age, and the reapers 47:32 are the angels. 47:33 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the field 47:36 so it will be at the end of the age. ' " 47:39 I want to read a quotation from a devotional book 47:42 called The Faith I Live By. This is page 302. 47:46 "Has God no living church on earth? " 47:51 I want you to notice the language here. 47:53 "He has a church, 47:55 but it is the church militant... 47:58 not the church triumphant. 48:01 We are sorry that there are defective members. 48:07 While the Lord brings into His church those who 48:11 are truly converted, Satan at the same time 48:14 brings persons who are not converted into its fellowship. 48:19 While Christ is sowing the good seeds 48:22 Satan is sowing the tares. 48:24 There are two opposing influences exerted on 48:27 the members of the church. 48:29 One influence is working on the purification of the church 48:33 and the other for the corrupting of the people of God. " 48:37 Now sometimes people want to go into the church 48:42 and identify the tares. 48:44 That is not our work. Amen? 48:48 Amen. The other temptation that people have is to focus 48:52 on people. We need to focus our eyes on Jesus, Amen? 48:57 The Author and the Finisher of our faith: this is HIS church. 49:00 It may be faulty; it may be frail; 49:02 it may have people problems... 49:04 but it is God's church and He loves His church. 49:07 He will carry it through to the end. Amen? 49:10 Amen. Last Day Events 181: 49:13 "The church may appear as about to fall 49:16 but it does not fall. " Amen. 49:20 I do not believe in this principle of a remnant 49:22 within the remnant. This is God's remnant 49:25 and it is going through to the end. Amen? 49:27 We need to stay on the ship. 49:29 We need to stay on this boat because Christ is the captain 49:34 of this ship. 49:36 The other question: the temptation that people have... 49:41 "Why should I even go to church? " 49:44 Ever heard that before? 49:46 Why not just stay home? 49:51 Have home church! 49:54 Well, this is something that I believe should be an exception. 49:58 I'm not saying that there are some weekends or some 50:01 Sabbaths that it's not a sin to stay home 50:04 and worship the Lord. But I say that it should be 50:07 something that is not a rule. 50:09 In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25 we notice: 50:11 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together 50:15 as the manner of some is but exhorting one another - 50:19 and so much the more 50:21 as you see the Day approaching. " 50:26 The Bible is very clear that we are not to forsake 50:30 the assembling of ourselves together 50:32 as the manner of some is but exhorting one another - 50:35 and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 50:40 I was just reading the other day an article. 50:46 And this was a secular person that was amazed 50:51 as a scientist at the tornadoes that have torn through 50:55 our country the last few days. 50:58 The last few weeks. 51:00 It seems like you just can't wake up one morning 51:03 and there's natural disaster after natural disaster 51:07 after natural disaster. 51:09 And here's a secular person saying 51:11 "Hold onto your seats 51:13 because this is the tip of the iceberg. " 51:17 He thinks that the natural disasters in the future 51:20 are going to be even greater 51:23 than the ones that we have now experienced. 51:26 And I can't help but read that 51:28 and remember Christ's words in Matthew chapter 24. 51:33 These are the footsteps of an approaching God. 51:37 And the Bible tells us that we are not to forsake 51:41 the assembling of ourselves together 51:43 as the manner of some is 51:45 but so much the more as you see the Day approaching. " 51:49 Could it be possible 51:52 that we need to press together as God's people as never before 51:57 as we approach the end of time? 51:59 We are going to need each other as never before 52:02 to encourage and build each other up. 52:05 This is not a time for doing our own thing. 52:08 This is a time to come together as a community of faith 52:12 in the end of time because God is calling His people 52:15 out of Babylon into His remnant church. 52:19 He'll take care of His church; 52:21 He'll take care of His body; He'll take care of His bride. 52:27 The other reason that I believe that coming to church is 52:30 so important is found in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 20. 52:36 You remember in the Old Testament that 52:40 in Exodus chapter 25 verse 8 52:43 you see the intention of the scripture. Even though 52:45 that sin had separated man from God 52:48 in Exodus chapter 25 verse 8 He says: "Let them build 52:51 Me a sanctuary and I may... " what? 52:53 "That I may dwell among them. " 52:55 You see that in the theology of the Bible God is wanting 52:59 to come very close. Even so that when He built 53:02 the tabernacle on earth, there is no floor on the tabernacle. 53:06 In other words, heaven came all the way down. 53:10 God wants to be here; He wants to be close. 53:12 And in the New Testament you see Emmanuel: 53:16 God with us. 53:18 So even though sin has separated us from God 53:22 in the message of the Bible God wants to be as close 53:26 as possible. We are told in the book Desire of Ages 53:30 that even though sin separated us from God 53:32 that in Emmanuel - in Jesus Christ - 53:35 that God has come closer than 53:37 before sin ever came into the world. 53:40 Heaven is very near. 53:42 And yet in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 20 it says: 53:47 "For where two or three are gathered together 53:50 in My name, there I am in the midst of them. " 53:56 We no longer have an Old Testament sanctuary. 53:59 We no longer have the ark of the covenant with the 54:01 Shekinah glory, but the Bible presents 54:03 this incredible principle 54:05 that when God's people gather together in His name 54:08 He says: "I am there. " Amen? Amen. 54:11 "I am in the midst. " 54:13 And to me this is the most compelling argument 54:16 for why we should press together, 54:19 why we should come together, 54:20 and why we should come to church: - Amen - 54:24 because Jesus is there. 54:28 If Jesus said: "Saturday morning Sabbath School 54:33 I'm going to be physically there, " 54:37 I believe all of us would clear our calendars. 54:39 We'd be there early. Amen? 54:41 To meet with Jesus, and yet through His Spirit 54:44 He says: "I am there. " 54:49 We go to church to meet with Jesus. 54:54 The people, the architecture... all of those things are 54:58 important but they are secondary. 55:02 Does God have a visible church on earth today? 55:05 You'd better believe it. 55:09 John chapter 10 and verse 16 55:13 gives us words of hope from the mouth of Jesus Himself. 55:19 And He says: 55:21 "And other sheep have I 55:24 which are not of this fold. " 55:27 I want you to notice the language of Jesus. 55:29 "I have other sheep out there that are not of this fold... 55:33 not of this visible church. " 55:34 "Them also must I bring and they also hear My voice 55:40 and there shall be... " What does your Bible say? 55:43 "And there shall be one fold, 55:46 and there shall be one shepherd. " 55:49 God is calling people together to His visible church 55:54 to be part of one fold, part of one shepherd. 55:59 My question to you this evening: 56:02 "Do you hear the Shepherd's voice? " 56:06 Is Jesus calling you? I believe that He is. 56:12 Is Jesus calling you? 56:15 Could it be that God is calling you 56:21 to join His end-time movement? 56:26 Will you accept that invitation? 56:31 I believe it's not by accident that you're hearing 56:35 this presentation. 56:37 God has brought Bible truth to you because He believes 56:41 that you can be trusted with it. 56:44 Walk in the light while Jesus is presenting the light to you. 56:50 Will you hear His voice this evening? 56:56 Will you hear His call? 56:59 Let's bow our heads together as we pray. 57:04 Our Father in heaven, 57:07 We thank you that You have called us out of darkness 57:11 into His marvelous light. |
Revised 2014-12-17