Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Jim Gilley
Series Code: 14HC
Program Code: 14HC000007
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00:45 Hello! Good afternoon and we welcome you once again
00:48 to 3ABN Camp Meeting, our Fall Homecoming version 00:52 2014. It is Friday afternoon 00:56 and we are anticipating the Sabbath. 00:58 But for now we are praising the Lord to be in His house 01:01 once again. Our speaker for the afternoon 01:04 is our president and our pastor, our friend 01:07 Jim Gilley. It was about 8 years ago 01:10 I suspect that he and Camille came to serve here at 3ABN 01:14 and they have been a blessing ever since. 01:17 First of all, they're wonderful Christian people. 01:19 Camille is the consummate house- keeper and an excellent cook. 01:23 And Jim is just a good friend. We were backstage 01:27 exchanging pleasantries. I told him how much 01:29 I appreciated him. He said: "No I appreciate you more. " 01:32 I said: "No Jim, I appreciate you more. " 01:33 He said: "No, I appreciate YOU more. " 01:35 I said: "No Jim, I appreciate YOU more. " 01:36 And I really appreciate him today because I was scheduled 01:40 to preach this afternoon, but my surgeon warned me... 01:44 As you well know, we had six bypass surgery just a few 01:47 weeks ago, and this is my first week back. 01:51 And Jim was kind enough to say: "Since you're not allowed to 01:54 preach I will preach in your stead. " So I appreciate him 01:58 more than he appreciates me because he is going to speak 02:01 for me and I appreciate that. 02:03 My surgeon said: "Certain things you cannot do. 02:05 You cannot carry anything heavier than a jug of water. 02:08 And he said: "And you can't preach. " 02:10 He said: "I've seen you black guys preach. You sweat and you 02:11 run all over the place. You're not allowed to preach. " 02:13 So Jim is going to preach for me 02:16 and I thank him so very very much. 02:18 His sermon is: "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. " 02:22 You can't do much better than that. 02:23 You can't find a better topic than that. 02:26 As I said, he and Camille have been such a blessing 02:28 to this ministry. He has served in so many capacities. 02:32 What you may not know is that Jim is one of the preeminent 02:35 evangelists in the Adventist church. He's held many many 02:38 many meetings and some very successful meetings in Russia. 02:41 Served in the North American Division. 02:43 Pastor, evangelist, businessman. 02:45 Good head; good committee man 02:47 and just a really neat guy. 02:49 We love him so very very much. 02:51 And I appreciate him more than he appreciates me! 02:54 So we are praising the Lord for that. 02:57 Just before he comes I want to do a song. 03:00 I had to go through my repertoire and find something 03:02 that doesn't allow me to push too much. 03:05 My doctor said: "You can't be breathing and holding out long 03:07 notes. You've got to sing something simple. " 03:09 So we're going to attempt to do... Whoo! What's the name 03:13 of the song? Also, this surgery also plays with your brain. 03:17 You forget things and nothing tastes good. 03:20 I'll Tell the World That I'm a Christian 03:23 is the song. We'll have prayer, we will sing, and then the next 03:26 voice you will hear will be that of our pastor, 03:28 our friend, the president of this ministry 03:31 Jim Gilley. Father God, we just praise You 03:34 and thank you so very much for the privilege of speaking 03:37 a word for You. We ask that You would give Your servant, our 03:41 wonderful friend, meat in due season for our thirsty souls. 03:44 But more than that, make us receivers of that Word. 03:48 And we thank you in Jesus' name, Amen. 04:06 I'll tell the world 04:10 that I'm a Christian. 04:13 I'm not ashamed 04:17 His name to bear. 04:21 I'll tell the world 04:24 that I'm a Christian. 04:28 I'll take Him with me 04:31 everywhere. 04:35 I'll tell the world 04:39 how Jesus saved me 04:42 and how He gave me 04:46 a life brand new. 04:50 And I know 04:53 that if you trust Him 04:56 that all He gave me 05:00 He'll give to you. 05:07 I'll tell the world 05:11 that He's my Savior. 05:14 No other One 05:18 could love me so. 05:22 My life, my all 05:25 is His forever. 05:29 And where He leads me 05:32 I will go. 05:40 I'll tell the world 05:43 Jesus is coming 05:46 and it may be near 05:50 or far, far away. 05:54 But we've got to live 05:57 as if that coming 06:01 could be tomorrow 06:05 or today. 06:08 For when He comes 06:11 and life is over 06:15 for those who love Him 06:19 there's more to be. 06:24 Eyes have never seen the wonders 06:30 that He's preparing 06:33 for you and me. 06:40 Go tell the world 06:44 that you're a Christian. 06:47 Don't be ashamed 06:51 His name to bear. 06:54 Just tell the world 06:58 that you are a Christian 07:02 and take Him with you 07:05 everywhere. 07:11 I'll tell the world 07:17 how Jesus saved me 07:20 and how He gave me 07:23 a life brand new. 07:28 And I know 07:30 that if you trust Him 07:34 that all He gave to me 07:37 He'll give to you. 07:45 I'll tell the world 07:48 that I'm a Christian. 07:52 I'm not ashamed 07:56 His name to bear. 07:59 I'll tell the world 08:03 that I'm a Christian. 08:06 I'll take Him with me 08:09 anywhere. 08:14 I'll take Him with me 08:16 anywhere. 08:32 Amen! 08:34 It's sure good to see you out here. 08:39 Great to have him back. 08:41 You cannot imagine how we missed him. 08:46 And he's supposed to be preaching right now. 08:50 Did he tell you that? Yes. 08:51 I've been hiding out in the back. 08:53 So I'm filling in for him 08:58 and that is not easy to do. 09:04 Let's bow our heads. Father, as we open Your Word 09:08 we just pray that You'll open our hearts. 09:11 Help us, Father, to have the message that You want 09:17 for us today. In Jesus' name, Amen. 09:23 Want to take you on a quick trip. 09:25 This is a trip through scripture. 09:28 If you have your Bibles, you're going to use them, all right? 09:32 We're going to start off with Exodus the 12 chapter. 09:36 Now by the way, I'm going to go through these real quick. 09:39 You just go to John 6 and stick around there for a little bit 09:43 and I'll be at John 6 in a minute 09:45 'cause I want to move through these pretty fast. 09:47 I'm going back to Exodus 12 and we're talking about 09:51 the blood of Jesus Christ. 09:54 We're talking about the sacrificial gift 09:58 of life eternal that comes through Him. 10:01 And I know that this is a subject that some people 10:04 don't like. The devil doesn't like it... 10:07 I can tell you that right now. 10:09 I've been overseas, I've been places where 10:12 we have come face to face with demons. People that were 10:16 possessed by demons. Seen it in this country, too. 10:20 And when we prayed for them 10:22 in the name of Jesus, when you mentioned the blood 10:28 they were gone. 10:30 When you talk about the blood of Jesus 10:33 the demons cannot stand to be in the presence 10:39 of the blood of Jesus 10:41 or the mention of His blood. 10:45 Remember that if you're... plead the blood of Jesus 10:49 in your own life. Exodus 12:13: 10:51 "Now the blood shall be... " And this is the Passover... 10:56 "a sign for you on the houses 10:58 where you are and when I see the blood 11:01 I will pass over you. " 11:05 When I see the blood. 11:08 Exodus 24 verse 8: "And Moses took the blood 11:12 and sprinkled it on the people and said: 'This is the blood 11:17 of the covenant which the Lord has made with you 11:20 according to all these words. " 11:22 Now remember those words because you see them again 11:26 when Jesus utters them. 11:29 Matthew the 26th chapter... here it is. 11:32 It says: "And then He took the cup, 11:34 gave thanks, and gave it to them and said: 'Drink from it 11:39 all of it for this is the blood of the new covenant 11:45 which is shed for many for the remission of sins. ' " 11:49 Jesus. And when you take that communion 11:52 you're not... You're drinking juice, of course, 11:56 but it symbolizes the death of Jesus Christ 12:00 on the cross... His shed blood for you and for me. 12:06 Romans the 3rd chapter verses 23 to 25. 12:09 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God 12:12 being justified freely by His grace through redemption 12:16 that is in Christ Jesus 12:18 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood 12:23 through faith. " 12:26 Romans 5 verses 8 and 9: 12:29 "For God demonstrated His love 12:32 toward us in that while we were still sinners 12:34 Christ died for us. Much more then having now been 12:38 justified by His blood we shall be saved from wrath 12:43 through Him. " Ephesians 1:7: 12:48 "In Him we have redemption 12:50 through His blood. " 12:54 And then Colossians the first chapter verse 20 says: 12:58 "Having made peace through the blood of His cross. " 13:03 Hebrews the 9th chapter and verses 11 and 12: 13:07 "But Christ came as a High Priest of the good things 13:10 to come with a greater, more perfect tabernacle not made 13:13 with hands... that is, not of this creation. 13:16 Not with the blood of goats and calves 13:20 but with His own blood 13:22 He entered the Most Holy Place 13:25 once and for all, having obtained eternal redemption. " 13:30 And then Hebrews 9:22 says: "According to the law 13:35 and almost all things are purified with blood, 13:38 and without shedding of blood there is no remission. " 13:42 I Peter 1:19: "But with the precious blood of Christ 13:47 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. " 13:52 I John 1:9. I'm just reading the portion of these texts now 13:56 for time. "And the blood of Jesus Christ 14:00 His Son 14:01 cleanses us from all sin. " 14:06 Revelation 1:5: "To Him who loved us 14:09 and washed us from our sins 14:12 in His own blood. " 14:16 Revelation 5:9: 14:19 "and to open its seals for You were slain 14:22 and have redeemed us to God by Your blood. " 14:25 Revelation 7:14... it says: "These are the ones 14:29 who came out of great tribu- lation and washed their robes, 14:33 made them white in the blood of the Lamb. " 14:38 It's amazing. You take the white - the robe. 14:41 You run it through the blood and it's white! 14:45 Pure... because it's been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. 14:50 Revelation 12:11... one of my favorite texts now... 14:55 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb 14:59 and by the word of their testimony. 15:02 And they did not love their lives unto death. " 15:08 What a text! What a message! 15:11 You know, this afternoon this is a seminar. 15:16 We are studying. We are studying the Word of God. 15:19 We open the Word and we read it and we study it. 15:23 We're not looking so much for a sermon as we are 15:27 "What does God's Word say to me? " 15:30 "What does it say to me? " 15:33 And when Jesus talks about this 15:35 you find that He lost a lot of followers 15:39 when He really explained the blood. 15:42 You look at John the 6th chapter - 15:43 and that's where I hope we'll spend most of the rest 15:46 of our time - beginning with verse 51: 15:50 "Most assuredly I say to you 15:53 unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man 15:56 and drink His blood 15:58 you have no life in Him. 16:03 Whoever eats My flesh, drinks My blood, 16:07 has eternal life and I will raise him up 16:11 at the last day. " 16:14 One of the better translations puts it this way. 16:16 It says: "He that appropriates his life... " 16:20 eating the bread, appropriating his life... 16:24 "and claiming the saving merit of His blood... " 16:30 these are those that receive life eternal. 16:34 You know, this whole chapter 6 is such an amazing chapter. 16:38 I probably have preached more out of this chapter 16:41 than any chapter in the Word. 16:44 This chapter and Isaiah 43 are the two chapters I've probably, 16:48 my wife has heard so many sermons from me on these 16:51 two chapters and she probably knows 16:53 about what I'm going to say. 16:55 But I'm going to change it just to throw her off a little bit. 17:00 But this is the feeding of the 5,000. 17:05 What an event! In fact, this is such a dramatic event 17:09 that all of the gospels speak of this event. 17:14 And you see, for us now... We really, we just see 17:17 this as one more miracle that Jesus did. 17:19 Jesus doing all these miracles. 17:21 But not for them. You see, the people at that time 17:25 they saw this as the real Messiah. 17:28 This is the Messiah. He can do something 17:32 that no one else could ever do. 17:34 He can feed us. The sign that Moses 17:39 was leading the children of Israel out of Egypt 17:42 was the fact that they got manna... they had manna. 17:45 Six days out of the week they had manna 17:49 and they were fed by this wonderful bread... 17:55 this thing that came from heaven. 17:57 You know, for years I never knew what the word manna meant. 18:00 It means "What is it? " 18:02 And they were eating "What is it" for all of those years. 18:07 They didn't know what it was, but it was good! 18:09 And as they fixed it... They could probably fix manna 18:12 a hundred different ways. 18:14 They had manna pancakes or manna biscuits. 18:17 Or they could have whatever they wanted to out of it 18:22 because it was something that they could eat 18:26 and receive nourishment. 18:28 I think it was perfectly balanced, too. 18:31 I think that the Jewish people have had a great deal of measure 18:35 of health through the years, and I think very much part of it 18:39 was the health reform - the Leviticus message, 18:42 Leviticus 11, but also that they had 40 years 18:47 of eating manna. 18:49 And I think that that kind of carried through... 18:52 through from generation to generation the health that you 18:58 receive by being fed with bread from heaven. 19:04 But this bread when Christ fed the five thousand - 19:08 the miracle that took place - they were astounded by this. 19:14 They said: "We just... we want Him to be our King. " 19:19 "We want Him to be the Messiah. " 19:21 There was no way that this could not be the Messiah now 19:25 because He had fed all of these people 19:28 with nothing... just a few loaves and fish! 19:32 And see, they were all focusing on literal food. 19:38 We've got to be careful that we don't focus on literal food. 19:44 You see, food is a very good thing. 19:47 Diet is an extremely good thing; health is a good thing. 19:49 Somebody mentioned to me the other day... They said: 19:52 "Good health is a slower rate of dying. " 19:58 Did you ever think about that? 20:00 That's about the best you're going to get from good health, 20:03 right? It's good! Now listen, 20:05 I've had bad health, I've had good health. 20:07 Good's better... I can tell you that. 20:09 It's a whole lot better every simple way. 20:14 We were talking a minute ago and sharing some things 20:17 in the back. I was visiting with Bruce, and we were talking 20:19 a little about health struggles. 20:21 We both have had them in the past, and how thankful we are 20:24 that God brought us through them. 20:27 And He did! I know that when I came to... 20:32 and this was back in the 90's... I did not realize 20:37 how bad off I really was. 20:39 Later my general practitioner doctor told me. He said: 20:44 "When I read your chart... " 20:47 he said, "I called my wife. " He had a cell phone. 20:50 He said: "I cried all the way home" 20:53 'cause he said: "Jim's not coming out of there alive. " 20:57 And later on when the Lord restored me 21:01 I visited with my Catholic doctor and I told him... 21:04 I said: "I mentioned in the book... " I gave him a copy 21:07 of my book. I said: "I gave you and the Lord credit. " 21:11 He said: "You'd better reverse that. 21:14 You'd better give the Lord credit. " 21:17 He said: "I'd given up on you. " 21:19 You know, when things like that happen in your life 21:24 and you come to the point where it could be over 21:27 just that quickly, you realize 21:31 how precious life is 21:34 and you thank God for every moment that you have it. 21:40 You appreciate it 21:42 and you want to take care of your health. 21:46 But you don't want the religious thing. You see, the devil... 21:49 the devil is like a baseball pitcher. 21:52 I used to be a pitcher. I had somebody this week 21:56 ask me: "How fast was your fast ball? " 22:00 See, I don't care how fast your fast ball is 22:03 if that's all you're going to throw, 22:04 somebody's going to hit it. 22:07 So you have to have something other than fast balls. 22:09 You have to be a pitcher... not a thrower. 22:13 You have to keep the batter off balance. 22:16 If he's looking for curves, you throw a fast ball. 22:20 If he's looking for a fast ball, you throw a curve 22:22 or a change-up or a knuckle ball or a slider. 22:25 Anything other than what he's looking for. 22:28 If he actually figures out pretty much what you're going to 22:32 throw, he can probably hit it. 22:35 So you've got to throw him something he doesn't know 22:37 is coming. Devil does exactly that. 22:40 See, if the devil can get you off the road on diet, 22:45 he'll take you any way he can get you. 22:48 He'll do it. 22:50 He will... If he can get you off into unhealthy living... 22:54 I've had people say: "Well, you can't eat yourself 22:57 into the kingdom. " No, I believe you can eat 22:59 yourself out. I think the Bible is very clear about gluttony. 23:06 But you may not... Gluttony may not be 23:08 the first in the facts... battles of the weight battle. 23:13 Believe me. I know some skinny gluttons. 23:19 I used to call myself... What was that chuckle over there? 23:24 I thought I heard Murray. 23:26 But I have seen people 23:30 that could just eat and eat and eat and never gain an ounce. 23:37 And I've seen people that would just take a sniff of food 23:41 and gain 5 pounds, and I happen to be one of those. 23:45 So I used to tell people I'm a missionary to those that battle 23:50 the weight situation. 23:52 I know what your battle is 23:56 and I know that it's not an easy battle. 23:59 And just because you see somebody that may be battling 24:04 weight doesn't mean that they... that they have a... 24:08 that they're gluttons. Just doesn't mean that. 24:10 You cannot judge, my friend. You cannot judge. 24:13 Now if you lived with them for a while you might be able 24:16 to judge. If my wife tells you I am a glutton, 24:18 then you'd better listen to her. 24:20 Ask her. I don't think she'd tell you that. 24:23 I don't think she'll tell you that. 24:26 Well lets get off me and talk about you. 24:30 That's more fun for me anyway. 24:34 You see, if we get so into thinking we can control 24:40 righteousness, if we think that we 24:44 can somehow work our way into heaven, 24:50 the devil's got us right where he wants us. 24:52 He loves that. 24:55 He loves that. 24:57 You know, when Paul speaks about the sin that so easily 25:01 besets us, if you will read what that sin is... 25:06 it's the sin of trying to save yourself. 25:10 Sometimes we look and we say: "The sin that so easily besets 25:14 us" we think of our sin, but the real sin that we have, folks, 25:19 is trying to be God and trying to be our own Savior. 25:24 We don't want Christ to save us; 25:29 we want to save ourselves. 25:31 And He says: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, 25:35 the only way is through the blood. " 25:39 It's the only way. 25:42 Now you see, so many times 25:45 and this is what it talks about here when he talks about 25:49 the bread. Because after He fed the 5,000 25:53 remember He disappeared. Then the Bible says He comes back 25:56 across the sea. "And they said to Him: 'Rabbi, 26:00 when did You come here? ' " 26:02 And Jesus didn't answer their question. 26:04 He just skips right over. So many times you'll find 26:07 they'll ask a question. He doesn't even answer 26:09 that question. By the way, you don't have to answer some 26:13 questions when people ask you things either, all right? 26:16 You can just skip right over. We've got a good example 26:19 for that in the Lord. He said: "Most assuredly I say to you 26:23 you seek Me not because you saw the signs 26:28 because you ate of the loaves and were filled. " 26:32 Then the key verse here: "Do not labor 26:36 for the food which perishes 26:39 but for that food which endures to everlasting life. " 26:43 Now if you're marking your Bible, put in a little underline 26:48 under perishes and put a little... that's verse 27 26:52 of chapter 6... and then put a line under endures. 26:58 One of those foods is going to perish 27:00 and the other is going to endure. 27:04 And the food that's going to perish 27:08 is our own attempt at salvation. 27:14 And that which is going to endure is that which He does 27:19 for us and through us. 27:23 He says: "Which the Son of Man will give you... " 27:27 He'll give you that one that endures. 27:30 "because God the Father has set His seal 27:35 upon him. " Now see, they still didn't get it 27:38 because look at what they say right next. 27:41 "Then they said to Him: 'What good work 27:46 may we do and how shall we work 27:50 the works of God? ' " 27:54 And again, they wanted to do something. 27:59 It's like the rich young ruler when he came 28:02 he said: "What can I do to inherit eternal life? " 28:06 He wanted to do something. 28:08 "Get me a list! If I get rid of this and I get rid of that 28:13 and I quit doing that and I stop doing this 28:17 then will I be all right? " 28:21 "Is that it, Lord? " 28:23 And here is what He said. 28:26 He says: "Jesus answered and said to them: 28:30 'This is the work of God: that you believe in Him 28:35 whom He sent. ' " 28:38 You see, that is what it's all about. 28:40 I know people say: "Well now wait a minute. 28:42 the Bible says that the devils believe and that the tremble. " 28:46 Well, they believe He exists but they don't believe in Him. 28:50 They don't accept Him. 28:53 They don't allow Him to become the ruler of their life. 28:58 That is truly what believing in Him is. 29:01 And He said that's what we have to do 29:03 is to believe in Him. 29:06 And if we believe in Him, 29:08 then He says that is what God wants you to do. 29:15 And when you believe in Him 29:18 and you move into the experience that He starts 29:22 talking about here because, by the way, this whole experience 29:25 it begins to separate individuals. 29:29 And the cross of Jesus Christ - the blood of Jesus - 29:32 will separate individuals. 29:36 There are those who just cannot accept it. 29:39 I pastored a church many years ago 29:41 where there was a group of wonderful people. 29:44 Some of the... Some of my best friends in the church. 29:48 The best supporters, the best people. 29:53 And they were all wet theologically. 29:56 They had one class together, and I hope some of them are 29:59 watching today because there are a few of them left. 30:02 I love them and they know I do. 30:05 And I would go into that class. I would say: "Boy, am I glad 30:09 you're all in one place. 30:11 We've got all of the heresy in the whole church right here 30:15 in this class. " 30:17 And then we would battle it out. 30:23 They were involved in moral influence theology. 30:28 Do you know what that is? 30:30 Moral influence theology says that Jesus came to just simply 30:36 show you how to live. 30:39 He's your example... and He is. 30:41 But that He... It was never intended 30:45 for Him to die on the cross. 30:47 Now that's where the heresy starts coming in. 30:51 It began being taught about 800 AD. 30:56 It raises its head every so often. 31:00 There was a great man - a wonderful person - I loved him 31:03 very much - professor on the West Coast, 31:07 not the one up North but the one down South, 31:11 that taught this doctrine. And by the way, folks, 31:16 he was a good man... good man. 31:19 Wrong but good. 31:23 And what makes it dangerous is when heresy is being taught 31:26 by somebody who's a loving, kind, and wonderful person. 31:29 If they're mean and ornery, it's easy to oppose them, 31:33 but if they're really nice... He called me one time 31:38 because these guys wanted him to come to my church. 31:41 And I said: "Well fine. " And he called me and he said: 31:44 "Do you want me to come? " And I said: 31:48 "You want me to tell you the truth? " He said: "Yes! " 31:50 I said: "No, I don't. 31:53 I don't believe in what you're teaching 31:57 'cause you're teaching that the cross meant nothing 32:02 and the Bible teaches the cross means everything. " 32:06 Amen! It means everything. 32:09 I remember one time one of these guys said to me: 32:12 "I don't believe in this slaughterhouse religion. " 32:17 I said: "What do you mean? " 32:18 Now these were intellectuals by the way. These were guys with 32:20 PhDs. These are guys who are scholars. 32:24 They were intellectual people. 32:26 And this is one of the biggest... the heresy of the 32:30 intellectual is the moral influence theology. 32:34 It's salvation by works for the intellectual 32:38 is what it is, 32:41 and it's bloodless. 32:44 "Oh, " they say, "the cross was an accident 32:47 but it had nothing to do with your redemption. " 32:51 Oh, my friend, nothing could be... 32:54 I cannot believe that any people 32:58 who understand the sanctuary service 33:02 and understand the whole situation 33:05 and the lamb that is without spot and blemish 33:09 and the sacrificial service of that lamb 33:12 how anybody could miss it. 33:16 How they could miss all those texts I just read 33:19 and explain them away! 33:22 How can they miss that? 33:25 If you ever run into that, just remember 33:30 to read some of these texts we just read. 33:35 Go back and look at the sanctuary service itself. 33:40 Go back there and see what Jesus says about 33:46 His dying on the cross. 33:49 What He says about His blood 33:52 where He talks about this so clearly. 33:55 Because you see those people that had listened 33:58 and wanted to be fed by Him 34:00 and wanted to make Him their King and wanted to make Him 34:04 their Leader, now all of a sudden 34:08 He starts telling them what this really means. 34:14 Oh, I tell you: if you get a chance 34:17 read chapter 6. I don't have time to read all of it 34:21 but I will tell you that it is so full... 34:25 so absolutely full. 34:28 He says: "I... " in verse 51... 34:30 Let's go to verse 50. He says: "This is the bread 34:34 which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it 34:37 and not die. I am the Living Bread 34:41 which came down from heaven. 34:43 Anyone who eats of this bread... he will live forever. 34:47 And the bread that I will give is My flesh 34:50 which I shall give for the life of the world. " 34:56 And they missed what He was talking about. 35:00 They started arguing among themselves. 35:02 It says they said: "How can this Man give us 35:04 His flesh to eat? " And then Jesus says to them 35:08 what I read earlier: "Most assuredly I say to you: 35:11 unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man 35:13 and shall drink His blood you have no life in you. 35:17 And whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood 35:20 has eternal life. And I will raise him up in that last day 35:24 for My flesh is food indeed 35:28 and My blood is drink indeed. 35:30 And he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood 35:34 abides in Me and I in him. 35:36 And as the Living Father sent Me 35:39 and I live because of the Father 35:42 so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. " 35:46 Feeding upon Jesus: the way to life. 35:52 "This is the Bread... " - pointing to Himself - He says. 35:56 "that came down from heaven. 35:58 Not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead 36:03 but he who eats this Bread 36:05 will live forevermore. " Amen! 36:11 Wow... what a message! 36:13 You know, He taught this at Capernaum at the synagogue 36:17 in Capernaum, and when I go over there 36:21 I cannot help, and when I go to that particular place 36:26 right where that synagogue was... It was destroyed 36:29 and another was built right on top of it. 36:31 And those ruins are left from later on. 36:35 But right on those very stones 36:38 is where He was teaching this message. 36:41 And it always hits me that Jesus, our Lord, 36:48 our God, was willing to give His life 36:54 for us. You know, sometimes we won't even give up something 36:59 for Him, but He gave up everything for us. 37:05 He gives up life! He gives His blood; 37:09 He gives His body. He receives the pain that we deserve 37:16 for life eternal. 37:19 No, my friend, the cross of Christ is everything. 37:25 Let him that says: "What can wash away my sin? " 37:29 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Amen! 37:33 What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 37:36 O! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. 37:42 No other fount I know... 37:45 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 37:51 And I believe that we need to be preaching 37:55 the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 37:59 I was reading in Gospel Workers 38:04 and over and over in Gospel Workers and in the book 38:08 Evangelism... over and over there's the message that we 38:13 are to preach the saving power of Jesus Christ 38:20 through His precious blood. 38:24 There is no other way except through Jesus 38:30 going to the cross, dying on the cross. 38:34 This is some of those state- ments. I'm going to read them 38:36 to you quickly. This is from Gospel Workers page 315: 38:41 "The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for our sin 38:45 is the great truth around which all other truths 38:51 cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated 38:55 every truth in the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation 39:00 must be studied in the light that streams 39:04 from the cross of Calvary. 39:07 I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy 39:12 and regeneration, salvation and redemption: 39:16 the Son of God uplifted on the cross. 39:19 This is to be the foundation 39:23 of every discourse given by our ministers. " 39:29 Amen! The foundation of every discourse. 39:35 Then she speaks here in the Review and Herald: 39:38 "Several have written to me inquiring if the message of 39:40 justification by faith is the third angel's message 39:44 and I have answered: 'It is the third angel's message 39:48 in verity. ' " The third angel's message. 39:52 That's the message that we present over and over again 39:56 to a dying world. It's the message of the 39:59 three angels, and right in the heart of it is the cross. 40:05 Right in the heart of it is Jesus. 40:09 She says here: "The uplifted Savior is to appear 40:12 in His effacious work as the Lamb slain, 40:16 sitting upon the throne to dispense the priceless 40:19 covenant blessings... the benefits He died to purchase 40:23 for every soul who should believe on Him. 40:27 John could not express the words... " she says. 40:32 And she's talking here about John the Revelator - 40:36 excuse me, I need a little water - 40:38 from the book of Revelation. 40:42 When we look at the cross we see a number of things. 40:46 I told him if I started stammer- ing to bring me some water. 40:49 Where is the water boy? Oh, here he comes. All right. 40:53 Thanks Terrance... I appreciate that. 40:55 We usually have a little stand out here for... 40:59 I don't mean for this to be a dry sermon... but... 41:08 mmm... but all of a sudden I needed a drink. 41:12 But you know when you look at the cross 41:14 you see so many things. 41:17 The apostle Paul say: "Brethren, when I came to you 41:20 I did not come with excellency of speech 41:23 or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God 41:27 for I determined not to know anything among you 41:30 save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. " 41:36 He said: "For the message of the cross is foolishness 41:40 to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved 41:43 it's the power of God. " 41:47 I Corinthians 1:23: "But we preach Christ crucified: 41:50 to the Jews a stumbling block, to the Greeks 41:53 foolishness. " And then he says in verse 25: 41:56 "Because the foolishness of God 41:58 is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger 42:03 than men. " And then he says: "I glory 42:07 in the cross of Christ. " 42:10 Now there are many things he could have gloried in. 42:12 He could have gloried in the pre-existence of Christ 42:15 because Christ never had a beginning. 42:17 He could have gloried in the virgin birth of Christ... 42:21 the incarnation. You see, when Christ came to this earth 42:26 this was not His beginning... this was the incarnation: 42:29 His coming to this earth. 42:32 He could have gloried in the teachings of Jesus. 42:35 Nobody ever taught like Jesus ever taught. 42:38 Love your enemies. What kind of foreign policy would that be 42:43 today? ISIS is active. Love 'em? 42:48 You know what I'm saying? 42:50 Those are difficult things to do. 42:53 Love your enemies. Turn your cheek! 42:56 He could have gloried in the miracles of Christ. 43:00 Christ would go into cities and everybody in that whole 43:04 little town would be healed. 43:06 He could have gloried in that. He fed the 5,000. 43:09 He could have gloried in the power of Christ. 43:12 He said: "Peace, be still. " He stilled the waves. 43:17 He could have gloried in that. 43:19 He could have gloried in the resurrection of Christ 43:21 because it's an empty tomb. 43:25 Christ is not in the tomb. 43:27 That's why if we have a cross it's an empty cross 43:32 because Christ is not still on the cross. 43:34 He's off the cross and the tomb is empty. 43:38 Could have gloried in the second coming of Christ. 43:43 But he said: "I glory in the cross of Christ. " 43:49 Because, my friends, the cross of Christ 43:54 is the focus of salvation. 43:58 That is where it is. 43:59 All those before the cross were looking forward to the cross. 44:03 All of us who have lived beyond the cross are looking 44:06 back at the cross. It is the focal point of history. 44:10 When Hay wrote his life of Lincoln 44:14 and he was dealing... He wrote some 5,000 pages 44:17 on the biography of Abraham Lincoln. And to the events 44:21 surrounding the death of Lincoln 44:25 he wrote only 25 pages. 44:29 One half of the book of John 44:32 one third of the other gospels 44:35 are devoted to the events surrounding 44:39 the death of Jesus Christ. 44:41 Because He did not come primarily to live. 44:44 He did not come primarily to teach. 44:47 He did not come primarily to perform miracles. 44:49 He came PRIMARILY to go to the cross 44:54 and to die for you and for me. 45:00 And you know something? He wants us to accept that gift. 45:04 He wants us to accept His blood. 45:08 And He was amazed, I believe, 45:13 at those who did because so many didn't. 45:17 When you look at the experience here in chapter 6, 45:21 you start with verse 60, you find that there are three 45:24 types of individuals. 45:27 First of all, there were those who openly defected. 45:32 The Bible says: "Therefore many of His disciples 45:37 when they heard this, 'This is a hard saying, ' they said, 45:41 'who can understand it? ' 45:42 And when Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained 45:46 about this He said to them: 45:48 'Does this offend you? 45:49 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend 45:53 where He was before. It is the Spirit who gives life; 45:58 the flesh profits nothing. 46:01 The words that I speak to you are Spirit, ' He says, 46:04 and they are life. But there are some of you 46:07 who do not believe. ' 46:09 Yet from that moment, " it says that "many of them 46:15 left Him. " And then that time it says 46:21 verse 66: "Many of His disciples went back and walked with Him 46:25 no more. " And then there was a firm determination: 46:29 "Jesus said to the twelve: 'Do you also want to go away? ' 46:34 Simon Peter answered Him: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? 46:39 You have the words of eternal life. 46:42 Also we have come to believe and to know 46:46 that You are the Christ, 46:49 the Son of the Living God. ' " 46:53 That was the response. 46:56 And Jesus said 46:58 but then there's one more subtle deception. 47:03 Jesus said: "Did I not choose you, the 12, and one of you 47:07 is a devil? " He was talking there about Judas. 47:11 Still walking with the group. 47:14 Still one of the twelve. 47:17 But there was a deception taking place. 47:21 It would not be long before he 47:26 would be the one 47:31 that would do something that you would never imagine 47:35 from a disciple. 47:38 By the way, if they'd have been trying to pick out who 47:41 it would have been then I don't think a single one 47:44 of them would have chosen Judas. 47:46 He was so trusted that they allowed him to handle the purse. 47:50 They allowed him to handle the money... 47:53 they trusted him that much. 47:56 And yet that was a subtle deception. 48:00 You know, my friend, we want to make sure... 48:04 we want to make sure that we 48:09 have made that full commitment to Jesus. 48:13 You know, we may be in the ministry. 48:14 We may be teaching a Sabbath School class. 48:18 We may be a youth leader. We may have been 48:21 born to parents who loved the Lord and we may have been 48:24 as we say "In the way" all the time... 48:27 all these years... 48:30 but have we really ourselves said 48:34 "I want Jesus' blood to cover me. " 48:39 Me. Not preaching to somebody else 48:45 but to me. 48:47 You see, we are all sinners. 48:49 We get the idea sometimes that there's something good 48:53 in some of us. The Bible says: "There is none righteous... 48:56 no, not one. " 48:58 It doesn't say "There's none righteous - no, not one. 49:01 Well, maybe Jim and maybe C.A. but... " 49:03 No... there's none righteous. 49:07 No, not one. What does it mean? 49:10 When you look at Matthew 5 Jesus really expands and tells 49:15 us what sin is. 49:18 You know, I would say if we look at this group 49:22 we're probably not stealing, killing, committing adultery. 49:25 We're not doing that. 49:27 But you know something? Neither was Satan. 49:31 He wasn't doing those things in heaven but he was a sinner. 49:36 Pride. And sometimes we're told by the prophet 49:41 it's religious pride. In fact, that's exactly 49:45 the pride that the Pharisees had. 49:47 They were good people! 49:50 They were very good people. I guarantee you that 49:54 the Pharisees would be officers in any church we have. 49:59 They were faithful! 50:01 They were tithers. 50:03 They kept the Sabbath. 50:05 They believed everything right about scripture 50:09 and like the rich young ruler they felt like they had kept 50:13 God's law always. They were perfect in that sense. 50:19 But there was still something lacking. 50:23 One thing is they wanted to earn their way. 50:25 "What good thing might I do? " 50:28 "What work should I do? " 50:31 We still want to be the one that earns it. 50:33 We want to get there and have the Lord say: "Man, 50:36 you did a good job. " 50:39 You see: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" 50:43 doesn't mean that you were just so full of yourself 50:48 and so perfect that God just can't keep you out of heaven. 50:52 That's not what it means. 50:54 It means that we realize His gift 51:00 and we accepted Him and we depended upon Him 51:06 and we relied upon Him. 51:10 We were faithful servants... we were faithful to Him 51:17 in our commitment and in our trust. 'Cause Matthew 5 51:23 Jesus tells us all about that sin. 51:26 He says: "You may think that... that you're good just because 51:29 you're not committing adultery, but if your harbor evil thoughts 51:34 you're a sinner. " 51:38 He says: "You may think just because you don't kill your 51:41 neighbor that you haven't killed, but if you're angry 51:46 with him... " you see. 51:49 And He gives us a new look at sin 51:55 and it really tells me 51:58 that no matter who I think I am 52:03 or what I think I am 52:06 I am lost without Jesus. 52:10 That His blood must cover my sins 52:14 always. I've got to be completely surrendered to Him. 52:20 That doesn't mean that you're going to be perfect. 52:22 You still may react wrong when somebody cuts you off 52:25 in traffic. We use that one 'cause that one doesn't touch on 52:28 anybody's toes too badly. But... 52:33 It still... You may need to know. 52:37 Or when you have a disagreement in your home. 52:42 And people have disagreements. 52:44 Don't think that that necessarily means that either one 52:48 of you are sinners. Does mean that we are living in a world 52:52 of sin where there's a lot of disagreement. But 52:55 it may mean that you're two just very opinionated people 53:00 and you may have to ask each other's forgiveness often. 53:06 And anyone who has been in a marriage relationship 53:11 for any period of time knows that happens. 53:15 It is often that people have to say: "You know, I'm 53:20 sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. " 53:24 And not just say it... but mean it. 53:26 Know it from the heart. 53:28 But Jesus says: "I want to change you. " 53:31 "I want to change you. " 53:34 And He can and He does. 53:37 I read the story of a man by the name of William Cowper. 53:41 Spelled it Cowper. 53:45 Cowper lived about the same time that Newton lived 53:49 that wrote Amazing Grace. 53:54 But he was a little younger. 53:56 His circumstances very similar. 53:58 His mother died when he was young. 54:00 His father was an attorney and pushed him into studying 54:03 for the law. He did not really want to be an attorney. 54:06 When it came down to doing his finals... he had 54:10 finished all of his work... he had a nervous breakdown. 54:13 It was so absolutely utterly vivid 54:18 that they had to put him in an asylum. 54:21 There was a man by the name of Nathaniel Cotton, 54:24 Dr. Nathaniel Cotton... who was a Christian physician there. 54:29 He began to talk to this young man about Jesus... 54:36 about the blood of Jesus. 54:39 He read to him Romans the third chapter. 54:44 He read to him that text about the blood of Jesus 54:49 taking away our sins. 54:52 It took a little while, but this young man began to accept 54:56 Jesus and pretty soon he was able to be released. 55:01 And they put him in a home with a family that lived there. 55:06 And this family were Christian people. 55:11 Dr. Cotton knew them and he knew he'd be in good care there. 55:16 When he got there, it wasn't long afterwards that 55:20 the father of that family died. 55:23 And so they moved, and they moved to a town 55:30 where Newton was the pastor. 55:37 And later on, these two men wrote hymns together. 55:42 Cowper became so involved with the Lord, 55:47 he loved Him so much, he appreciated so much what 55:53 Jesus did on Calvary and he wrote a song 55:58 that expresses that. 56:01 John Newton and William Cowper 56:05 wrote what's called The Olney Hymns. 56:08 There are 379 hymns in that. 56:13 Sixty-six of them were written by Cowper, 56:16 one of which There is a fountain 56:20 filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins. 56:27 And sinners plunged beneath the flood... 57:37 Father in heaven... |
Revised 2015-07-15