Participants: Pr. Richard Daly (Host), Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: 16LON
Program Code: 16LON000004A
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00:10 I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send,
00:14 and who will go for Us? 00:16 Then I said, Here am I; send me! 00:34 Three Angels Broadcasting Network 00:36 and the South England Conference present 00:44 Well, each evening we have been hearing some powerful messages. 00:47 And I don't know about you, but I've been truly inspired by 00:51 the word of God as it has been presented to us 00:55 through Pastor John Lomacang. 00:57 And I believe that tonight will be no different. 01:00 As the word of God comes to us, may we prepare of hearts, 01:06 or may we allow the Holy Spirit to do that which we 01:10 cannot do for ourselves. 01:11 And may we truly hear the word of God as it speaks to us 01:15 in a powerful way through our manservant. 01:18 And we appreciate him, and we're glad to have him. 01:22 But before he comes we're going to be favored once again. 01:25 We're going to hear the musical anthem that is played to us 01:31 in piano by Tim Parton. Thank you. 02:33 Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound 02:40 That saved a wretch like me! 02:49 I once was lost, but now I'm found; 02:58 Was blind, but now I see. 03:10 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, 03:17 And grace my fears relieved; 03:26 How precious did that grace appear 03:34 The hour I first believed. 03:46 My chains are gone, I've been set free. 03:54 My God, my Savior has ransomed me. 04:02 And like a flood, His mercy rains. 04:10 Unending love, Amazing grace! 04:18 My chains are gone, I've been set free. 04:26 My God, my Savior has ransomed me. 04:34 And like a flood, His mercy rains, 04:41 Unending love, Amazing grace! 05:26 The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, 05:33 The sun forbear to shine; 05:42 But God, who called me here below, 05:50 Will be forever mine. 06:00 My chains are gone, I've been set free. 06:09 My God, my Savior has ransomed me. 06:17 And like a flood, His mercy rains, 06:24 Unending love, Amazing grace! 06:32 My chains are gone, I have been set free, 06:39 My God, my Savior has ransomed me. 06:47 And like a flood, His mercy rains, 06:55 Unending love, Amazing grace! 07:08 Unending love, Amazing grace! 07:36 Wasn't that beautiful? Amen! 07:39 Thank you so much, Tim. 07:41 We have a wonderful relationship. 07:44 Tim is a man who plays, not only with his fingers, 07:48 but he plays from his heart. 07:49 And it surely does come through every time he sits at the piano. 07:56 I always say, Lord why didn't I take piano 07:59 lessons thirty years ago? 08:02 But it's a heart connection not just a musical connection. 08:06 But the message is equally important. 08:09 Tonight we're talking about how to break the chains; 08:12 how to have a new beginning in Jesus. 08:15 So before we go to the word, tonight I'd like to invite you 08:19 to bow your heads as I go before God's throne of grace. 08:24 Loving Lord, this is another opportunity to lift up Jesus. 08:31 And so, Lord, send Your Holy Spirit even now to speak to our 08:37 hearts. In Jesus' name, Amen. 08:41 There is no greater joy than beginning again, 08:50 and knowing that your past is not only 08:54 forgiven, but forgotten. 08:58 I'm going to say that again. 08:59 I want you to think about that. 09:01 There is no greater joy than beginning again, 09:06 and knowing that your past is not only forgiven, 09:10 but it is also forgotten. 09:12 There's some things that we have done in our lives... 09:16 Let me, let me rephrase that. 09:17 Let me not be pious. 09:19 There are many things that we have done that we 09:23 wish we had never done. 09:24 What do you say tonight? Amen! 09:26 And so the Lord gives us an opportunity to 09:28 start all over again. 09:30 That's why the message tonight is entitled, 09:32 Washing Away The Past, Washing Away The Past. 09:39 Now last night we considered a portion of the journey of 09:42 Nicodemus, a ruler, a Sanhedrin, a man of great stature, 09:48 a religious man. And Jesus began a conversation with Nicodemus, 09:53 because Nicodemus, so fearful of what people thought about him, 09:57 that he came to Jesus by night. 09:59 And as I said last night, it's better to come to Jesus by night 10:03 than not to come to Jesus at all. Amen! 10:06 When your life is dark, and the world is dark, 10:08 and your hope is dim, don't concern yourself with what 10:12 other people think. 10:14 Come to Jesus while the opportunity 10:16 still presents itself. 10:18 Nicodemus came to Jesus, but the conversation continues in 10:22 John 3, and look with me at verse 5. 10:25 If you don't have your Bibles, praise the Lord, 10:28 the text will appear on the screen. 10:33 This is to Nicodemus. 10:47 Now in the conversation with Nicodemus 10:50 Jesus addressed two issues. 10:51 He first addressed the fact... 10:54 And we talked about this last night. 10:56 ...that Nicodemus could not see the kingdom. 10:58 But then he goes further and says, 11:00 Nicodemus can't enter the kingdom. 11:03 And I would suggest to you that you need to see 11:05 where you're going. 11:07 In order for you to enter anything, 11:09 you need to have eyes to get in. 11:10 The Lord said to Nicodemus, With the eyes that you presently 11:14 possess, you not only can't see the kingdom, but unless your 11:17 vision is changed, unless your vision is changed, 11:21 you not only cannot see the kingdom, 11:23 you cannot enter the kingdom. 11:26 Let's revisit that text from last night, John 3:3. 11:41 In other words he cannot see it, and because he can't see it 11:45 he cannot enter it. 11:47 You know, there are certain truths in the Bible that you 11:49 will never understand when your eyes are guided by a 11:53 natural understanding. 11:55 When I was out in the world, the Bible had no 11:58 impact on me at all. 12:00 It was a good book. 12:02 I knew that my Mom said, Read the Bible. 12:04 Often I've given people Bibles and said, Read the Bible. 12:07 But let me suggest that unless you pray for God to give you 12:10 Spiritual sight, you can read the book that breathes 12:15 and never breathe at all. 12:17 You can see things in God's word that don't make any sense at all 12:21 because you don't have Spiritual eyes. 12:23 As we said, Spiritual things are what? Spiritually discerned. 12:28 So when the Lord said you cannot see, He took it a step further 12:32 to say to Nicodemus, this very well educated religious man 12:35 of the Sanhedrin, of the Order of the High Priest, He said, 12:40 Not only can you not see, but because your eyes are blinded, 12:44 you can't even enter. 12:46 And so there are two conditions that every one 12:48 of us must resolve. 12:50 We must pray for God to give us Spiritual eyesight. 12:54 Can somebody say Amen tonight? 12:56 There are certain things in the world that people that are 12:58 Christians can't see, and there are certain things that people 13:02 that are in the world, that Christians can 13:04 see, they cannot see. 13:05 Let me suggest to you, when you live for movies, 13:08 when you live for music, you can hear a single note 13:11 and understand right away what group is behind that song. 13:14 Sometimes kids are walking through the mall, 13:17 young people are walking through the shopping centers, 13:20 and all they hear are two notes, and they know exactly. 13:23 You see them starting to move. 13:24 They know exactly the rest of the song, 13:25 because they've trained their ears to listen and understand 13:29 in a certain direction. 13:31 Until our eyes are trained, until our eyes are made clear, 13:36 we can not only not see, but we cannot hear, 13:39 we cannot enter the kingdom of God. 13:41 That's why Nicodemus said what he did in verse 4 of John 3. 13:45 Notice what he said. 13:47 A wise man, but ignorant in the things of eternity. He said. 14:00 The answer is no. He can't do it that way. 14:03 In other words, Nicodemus says, I understand the biological 14:06 process, but I can't grasp the Spiritual process. 14:11 I told you a few nights ago about a couple that 14:13 came to our church. 14:14 The man was seventy-nine, and his wife was seventy-seven. 14:17 And he asked me the same question, How old do I need 14:22 to be before I'm too old to be baptized? 14:25 And I said to him, As long as you can breathe, 14:28 you can be baptized. What do you say? Amen! 14:30 As long as you can think; if you are alive. 14:33 When the Lord gives you that opportunity to enter into that 14:37 eternal relationship, as long as you can reason, 14:41 if you're alive you can be baptized. 14:43 There is no age that Jesus said we are too old to be baptized. 14:47 But Nicodemus didn't understand it. 14:49 The point that Jesus was making is being religious... 14:53 Hear this carefully. 14:54 Being religious does not mean that one is born again. 14:58 I'll say that again. 15:00 Being religious... Being what? religious. 15:04 Being religious does not mean one is born again. 15:07 Do you know why I say that? 15:09 Because Satanism is a religion. 15:15 Every and anything that people can come up with 15:19 has been made a religion. 15:21 Not too long ago I did a series on the occult 15:23 and the entertainment industry. 15:25 And a book called Liber L vel Legis 15:28 written by a man by the name of Aleister Crowley, 15:30 is called The Book of the Law, a book inspired by 15:34 Satanic interaction. 15:36 England has categorized that book as a holy book. 15:42 It's a Satanic book, but they have put it on even par 15:46 with God's inspired word. 15:48 It's called Liber L vel Legis, Latin for The book of the Law. 15:52 And the writer of that book said that he was inspired by a voice 15:56 over his left shoulder. 15:57 Three days in a row this evil voice spoke to him, 15:59 this Egyptian demon spoke to him. 16:01 But England, this country, has recognized that book as on 16:07 even par with God's word. 16:08 And it's now a recognized religion by Her Majesty. 16:12 It's religion! So everybody that's religious 16:16 is not born again. Amen somebody. Amen! 16:18 You've got to have a connection with Jesus to be born again. 16:22 To a great extent Christianity has been diluted. 16:25 It has become a designer religion. 16:28 People pick and choose what they feel best fits their 16:31 commitment to Christ. 16:32 We are a long way, we are a long way off from what Jesus 16:38 intended discipleship to be. 16:40 That's why there's so many religions. 16:42 That's why there are so many churches. 16:45 People pick this portion of the Bible and say, 16:47 Well, I'm a New Testament Christian. 16:49 Somebody says, I'm a Jew. 16:51 Somebody says, I'm a this religion, and that religion. 16:54 People pick and choose, and design the religion that best 16:58 fits their level of commitment to Jesus. 17:01 They go but only so far. 17:02 When Martin Luther died, not long after, the Lutherans began. 17:06 And you find during the Protestant Reformation many 17:09 religions began, but the formers, the founders of those 17:12 beliefs never intended for a religion to begin 17:17 based on their names. 17:18 They just simply discovered truths that were 17:21 hidden in God's word. 17:22 Martin Luther, if he were alive today, would be shocked 17:25 at what Lutheran's believe, because they don't believe 17:29 like Martin Luther believed. 17:31 But the world has become a place of designer religion. 17:34 That's why Isaiah 4:1 communicates 17:37 to us what it writes. 17:38 Listen to this carefully. The Bible says: 17:42 How many women? seven women, the perfect number. 17:50 What man do you think they're talking about? the man Jesus. 18:04 Just give us the label. 18:06 Some read the Bible, and instead of following what it teaches 18:09 they say... And I've heard this before. 18:11 Some people say, The Holy Spirit has not yet impressed 18:14 me to believe that. 18:16 Have you heard that before? 18:17 I'll wait until the Lord convicts me on that. 18:19 But the fact of the matter is, the Holy Spirit will never 18:22 convict us of anything that's not already 18:25 written in God's word. Amen! 18:27 If it's in there we can believe it. 18:30 But I believe the real issue is not the Holy Spirit, 18:33 the real issue is often the condition of man's heart. 18:36 Look at John 16:13, John 16:13. The Bible says: 18:59 Not even, get this, not even the Holy Spirit tells you 19:03 what He wants to say. 19:05 He tells you what Jesus has told Him to tell you. 19:09 An unbroken connection between earth and heaven. 19:12 He doesn't tell you what He comes up with, because there's 19:14 an unbroken connection between the Father, the Son, 19:18 and the Holy Spirit. 19:19 And so today to claim that Jesus is Lord is to recognize 19:24 that He is in charge. 19:26 When He speaks, we listen. 19:27 When He leads, we follow. 19:30 Look at Luke 6:46. The Bible says: 19:40 And furthermore, in order to have this new beginning 19:44 to wash away the past, we can only grow in Christ if we allow 19:51 the word of God to be the sanctifying power in our lives. 19:55 Why? This is the only book on the planet that breathes. 20:01 Can you say Amen to that? 20:02 This is the only living book. 20:03 That's why the Lord said, John 17:17. 20:06 Let's read this entire text together. Are you ready? 20:08 Let's put some power behind this. 20:10 Together, here we go! 20:18 The reason why Jesus said that is there was a mindset that 20:22 Jesus was continually contending with. 20:25 He met people that He had entrusted truth to for 20:28 more than a thousand years. 20:30 But He always bumped into this mindset of the, I already know 20:34 what I need to know attitude. 20:36 He spoke to the Jews and He said, Are you a slave to sin? 20:41 And they said, We've never been slaves. 20:43 Our fore parents have, and our ancestors were, 20:46 but we have never been slaves. 20:48 And He said to them, If you have fallen in sin, you are a slave. 20:52 But look at John 9:39. 20:55 Jesus tried to get them to see, but they always 20:58 said they could see. And He said: 21:16 Now you might ask the question, What is Jesus talking about? 21:19 Is He trying to make people to have good eyesight blind, 21:21 and people that have no eyesight see? 21:23 No that's not what He's saying. 21:24 In other words, He is saying until we admit that we are blind 21:28 our eyes will never see. 21:31 When I was out in the world I couldn't figure out what this 21:35 religion was all about. 21:36 I mean I was, I was partying. 21:38 I loved to party. I partied from Thursday to Sunday. 21:42 And you know what? I went to church on Saturday. 21:47 Some of you were just like that. 21:50 I know that not everybody in the building is in Jesus. 21:54 I partied from Thursday night to Sunday night. 21:58 If it were not for my girlfriend, who's now my wife... 22:01 I partied from Thursday night to Sunday night. 22:04 If it were not for her I wouldn't be in church 22:06 on Sabbath morning. 22:07 She'd come and wake me up; throw stones at my window. 22:10 My father would let her in. 22:12 She'd jar me out of my sleep. 22:14 You ought to be in church! 22:15 And I'd say, I just got home! 22:17 She'd say, You're going to church! 22:19 And I'd go to church, and I'd sit way in the back, 22:21 and I'd be snoring righteously. 22:27 Preacher's preaching his heart out and all of a sudden the pews 22:32 felt like Saint Mattress Cathedral: comfortable. 22:36 Dead to Spiritual things; could not comprehend. 22:40 But she kept on inviting me, kept on inviting me, 22:43 until one day the Lord broke through. 22:45 And I had to admit somewhere along the way, that what I had 22:49 understood intellectually... 22:51 Hear me carefully. 22:52 Until our intellect is guided by the Spirit of God, 22:58 our religion is just here. 23:01 Somebody once said, The longest distance is between man's 23:06 mind and man's heart. 23:08 Sometimes the Bible is here, but it's not here yet. 23:11 That's why the Bible says, Love the Lord thy God with how much 23:13 of thy heart? all thy heart, all thy soul, and all thy mind. 23:18 When Jesus talked to religious leaders in His day, 23:21 they were so offended by Jesus. 23:22 Look at what they said. 23:45 Do you know what that means? 23:46 Since you say you know it all, you don't even have any hope. 23:50 People that... Let me say this. 23:52 Some of the most difficult people I've had to communicate 23:56 God's word with are those that say they know it all. 24:00 I already know it. Yeah, I heard that before. 24:04 One of the dangers in hearing God's word and not responding 24:08 to it is like hearing your parent call you, and the longer 24:11 you ignore his or her voice, the more faint that voice gets, 24:15 until you no longer hear it at all. 24:16 There's some people that study their Bible, but they don't hear 24:19 God's word, because their minds are not willing. 24:22 That's why when we read the Bible... Hear me carefully. 24:25 When we read God's word, we've got to read God's word with a 24:28 willing, and obedient mind. 24:31 Say, Lord, make me... Open my eyes so that I may see. 24:34 Look at 2 Corinthians 8:12, how the Bible communicates 24:38 that very thought. 24:42 A what? Come on, talk to me tonight. 24:44 If there's first a what? 24:53 What that means is simply wherever you are the Lord 24:56 accepts you where you are. 24:57 But here's the good news. 24:59 He doesn't leave us where He finds us. 25:01 Somebody ought to say Amen! Amen! 25:03 Some people say, God loves you just as you are. 25:04 You know what, if He loved me just as I was, He wouldn't 25:06 change me from where I was. 25:08 He loved me where He found me, but He did not leave me there. 25:12 Halleluiah somebody! Amen! 25:14 He found the drug abuser and made him a Christian. 25:16 He found a thief and made him a treasurer. Amen! 25:20 Only God can do that! 25:23 Only the blood of Jesus. 25:26 When your mind is willing, and your heart is obedient, 25:28 and you say, Lord lead me. 25:30 He can do more in your life than you can ever imagine. 25:33 Matter of fact, whenever I go back to Brooklyn, 25:36 and I see friends. 25:37 That's Brooklyn, New York. 25:39 And I'd see friends in New York. 25:40 Some of them, I ask for them, they're dead. 25:42 Some strung out on drugs, some can't even think straight. 25:47 You could look at them and the scars of sin are on them, 25:50 teeth are missing, can't even stand up right. 25:54 And they just, all they can do is say, I need... 25:56 You got some money to lend me, brother? 25:59 You don't need money; you need Jesus. Amen! 26:02 But let me give you some good news tonight. 26:04 No matter how broken down you are, Jesus can fix it. Amen! 26:08 We may see people that know they're messed up, 26:11 that know they need help. 26:14 Sometimes they have more hope than people that 26:16 think they're good, and don't need to be fixed. 26:18 Some folk come to church looking good, but they're dead in 26:22 trespasses and sin. 26:23 Some people have never even heard about Jesus, 26:27 and they know that who they need more than anybody else 26:31 is a touch from Jesus. 26:35 Jesus makes it clear. 26:37 That's why He said once again in John 3:5, 26:46 You've got to be born of the water and of the, of the, 26:51 water and of the Spirit. 26:54 Now this is very interesting, because when the Lord talks 26:58 about being born again, we talked about seeing. 27:01 Last night we talked about Spiritual eyesight. 27:04 He doesn't give us Spiritual eyesight without then giving us 27:09 a Spiritual journey. 27:11 Do you hear what I said? 27:13 If He opens your eyes,... 27:14 Read the stories in the Bible. 27:16 Whenever He healed the blind man, He said, Take up your bed. 27:20 Go home and tell the people. 27:23 So they see this man, the paralyzed man, then they see a 27:27 man that was born blind. 27:28 And they're so confused they said, 27:30 Aren't you the one that was blind? 27:32 Then how then have you been made well? 27:34 And he said, A man named Jesus touched me, 27:38 and my eyes were restored. 27:40 And then they said, Now wait a minute, now wait a minute. 27:43 Tell us again. And they kept on pressing him; 27:46 religious folk trying to get an answer. 27:49 And he kept saying to them, Didn't you get it? 27:51 And then he finally had to say, All I know is once I was blind 27:55 but now I see. Somebody ought to say Amen. Amen! 27:57 See, I don't need to worry about how it happened. 28:00 Leave the how to Jesus. Amen! 28:03 You don't have to sorry about how your life is 28:04 going to get fixed up. 28:05 The Lord can do marvelous things nobody could have ever told me, 28:09 and I wouldn't have believed. 28:11 Nobody would have ever been able to tell me 28:13 that I would be preaching today. 28:15 Oh no, I would be pool hustling. 28:18 You call it snooker over here or billiards. 28:21 I'd be playing billiards on Friday night. 28:24 I intend to go to church on Sabbath morning, 28:26 but I'd be gambling on Friday night. 28:28 One Friday night I was a disk jokey on the 44th floor 28:32 on the World Trade Centers; those building that came down. 28:35 But I intended to go to church the next day. 28:37 Didn't want to leave that out. 28:39 That was a good activity. 28:40 But I was blind. I could not see. 28:42 When the Lord came into my life and confronted me, 28:45 I had four hundred record albums back in the day of the vinyl. 28:49 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 28:51 My room was lined with records on all four walls. 28:55 I had four fifteen inch speakers. 28:58 I could blow you away if you entered my room. 29:05 And that's the kind of life I'd thirst for: the club, the party, 29:10 the night life, just hanging out, just being cool, 29:17 just living for the city. 29:20 And to me that was life, until I met Jesus. Amen! 29:25 I want to tell you, I couldn't afford... 29:28 Let me even go further. 29:29 I could never orchestrate what God has done in my life. 29:33 But you'll never know unless you ask God to do things, 29:37 to do two things: first open your eyes, 29:40 and then guide your footsteps. 29:43 And that can only be done as we enter into that 29:47 Spiritual walk with Christ. 29:48 As a matter of fact, when you get that Spiritual eyesight... 29:51 Let me even go a step further. 29:52 Before I had Spiritual eyesight, I saw my journey. 29:55 I knew where I wanted to go. 29:57 When I received Spiritual eyesight I had no idea 30:03 where the Lord was leading me. 30:05 I had no idea! My wife and I, every now and then, say to each 30:09 other, We are two knuckleheads from New York. 30:12 Two little kids from New York's streets, raised without her 30:18 father, raised without knowing who my mom and dad were, 30:21 abandoned at three months old. 30:24 My dad wasn't even on my birth certificate. 30:27 Not knowing who and what my direction was. 30:30 But God reached down... 30:31 Let me tell you tonight, the good news is the Lord sees us 30:34 in our brokenness, and He has a plan. 30:36 And all He says is, Trust Me! Amen! 30:40 Proverbs 3:5, 6. Look at that together. 30:43 Trust Me! He says: 30:46 With how much of your heart? 31:00 You see, the prerequisite to entering the kingdom is, 31:03 1. Being born of the water, and being born of the Spirit. 31:10 Let me make it clear what it means being born of the water. 31:16 I remember getting baptized at nine years old. 31:21 I didn't understand what I was doing. 31:22 I just did it because momma said, You need to get baptized. 31:26 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 31:28 Yeah, momma, you know, Get baptized... everybody else... 31:30 Get baptized. But when we were dating at nineteen years old, 31:34 my wife and I got baptized together before we were married. 31:38 And I never forgot what one of her Jamaican brothers said. 31:41 You know, her Jamaican brothers protected her all the time. 31:44 And they commented: Do they plan on getting 31:47 married or something? 31:48 Why are they getting baptized together? 31:51 Do you know what we were planning? 31:53 We were planning to give our lives to Jesus. 31:57 And we understood it then. 31:58 And what happened at that pivotal point, 32:00 when I gave my life to the Lord... 32:02 Let me make it clear. 32:03 When I got baptized I did not immediately fully understand 32:10 where my life was headed. 32:11 All I said was, Lord, I'm going to get on board... 32:14 Like I said last night. 32:16 Do you want to take the ticket? 32:17 All you've got to do is get on board, and then allow the Lord 32:21 to orchestrate the dream He has for your life. 32:24 And let me tell you something, you think you've got a dream? 32:27 You ought to find out what the Lord has in store for you. Amen! 32:30 You think you can dream big? God can dream big. 32:32 As a matter of fact, when people meet me they say, 32:34 Well, what do you do? 32:35 I said, I sell fire insurance, and life insurance. 32:39 Now you don't even know what I just said. 32:42 You know why fire insurance? 32:44 Because at the end of this life there are two seats: 32:47 smoking and non-smoking. 32:48 I want the non-smoking one, what about you? 32:52 and life insurance. 32:54 Not only that, I sell retirement insurance. 32:57 Because God's retirement plan is out of this world! 33:00 What do you say? This world is... 33:02 I've been all over the place. 33:03 My wife, we've been all over the place. 33:05 You name it, we have seen things that our eyes can still not 33:09 understand: Dubai, seven star hotel, gold plated mirrors, 33:15 where money is water. 33:16 And what I heard is when those very wealthy men in that part 33:21 of the country die they just, they wrapped them in a shroud, 33:24 take them out to a desert and just put them there, 33:26 and then walk away. 33:27 I want to know that if my life record closes before Jesus comes 33:31 that I am going to be ready to meet my Lord in peace. 33:35 What do you say? Amen! 33:36 So this born of the water means the life we used to live 33:40 no longer identifies us. 33:42 I'm no longer a gambler. 33:44 I'm no longer a pool hustler. 33:46 That life has no appeal to me at all. 33:48 God changes you from what you were, and get this, 33:52 you are no longer identified with that life. 33:56 When I go back to New York people don't say, 33:57 Hey, there's the pool hustler. 33:59 They say, There's the preacher. Amen! Amen? Amen! 34:02 He changes your identity, 1. 34:04 Not only that, the sins of your past are no 34:07 longer held against you. 34:09 That's a hearty amen right there. Amen! 34:11 I know there are many people that did things they'd sure like 34:13 to have it wiped away. What do you say? 34:15 Thirdly, the nature that controlled you 34:18 no longer binds you. 34:21 Tonight, if I have enough time... 34:23 If I don't I'm going to use it tomorrow night. 34:25 You cannot, you cannot miss tomorrow night. 34:30 It's called, Get Connected. 34:32 You cannot miss! Don't miss tomorrow night! 34:38 You see, when you come to Christ the nature that controls us 34:41 no longer binds us. 34:44 And finally, and this is huge, the death penalty that hung over 34:49 your head no longer applies to you anymore. 34:52 You see, when you come to Jesus, somebody said, Well,... 34:55 Somebody once said to me, I'm saved. 34:56 And I said, Saved from what? 35:02 They said, Well, I gave my life to Jesus. 35:03 I said, Okay, now what does that mean? 35:06 You've got to understand what salvation means. 35:08 You see, when you're saved, the first step of salvation 35:12 is you are no longer on death row. 35:15 You are saved from the penalty of sin. 35:20 Because every one of us were born with a 35:22 sentence on our heads. 35:24 Every one of us were born with our final destination 35:27 being the fires of hell. 35:29 To be very clear, every one of us were born 35:33 destined to die eternally. 35:36 When you come to Jesus, He takes you off of death row. 35:41 He changes your identity. 35:44 He no longer applies your sin to you any longer, 35:47 and you are no longer identified with the life you used to live. 35:51 That's salvation from the penalty of sin. 35:55 Say that with me. Salvation from the what? penalty of sin. 35:59 That's called Justification. 36:03 A better way to understand that is... Are you ready? 36:06 ...just as if I had never sinned. 36:10 Justified: just as if I had never sinned. 36:15 In other words, the Father looks at you as though you'd never 36:19 done anything wrong. Anything! 36:24 He covers you with the righteousness of His Son, 36:28 and He looks at your life and says, Whatever you did before, 36:31 Oh, there's My son, there's My daughter, there's my son. 36:34 Oh, there's a sinner saved by grace. 36:38 He looks at your record. It's clean. 36:40 He looks at your nature. It's renewed. 36:42 He looks at your standing, and you are no longer on death row. 36:45 You are on the road to eternal life. 36:47 I wish somebody was listening to me tonight. 36:50 I'm not talking about a new movie. 36:51 I'm talking about salvation. 36:54 This is powerful! If I could preach about nothing more than 36:58 how to save you from the things that are coming, 37:00 God will give me the glory to be able to stand that. 37:02 Everything about our past in Jesus is washed away 37:08 by the blood of the Lamb. 37:10 Now let's go ahead, since you didn't get it yet, let's take a 37:14 glimpse of how you used to be. 37:16 Are you ready? Look at the screen. 37:18 Don't get shocked! 37:20 You're going to be identified in one of these sentences. 37:23 Don't tell me which one. Here it is: 37:36 What? Don't fool yourself. 37:45 That's people that waste their time doing nothing. 37:49 Do you need to explain that? 37:57 Come on, wet your righteous lips and say this. 38:03 That's people that love to fight. 38:08 Whew! That's not even the whole list. 38:14 But let's continue. 38:16 We've got to get some hope somewhere in here. 38:19 Are you ready? Are you ready? 38:29 I just want to see if you were listening. 38:38 Amen to that! All that stuff that you just read about 38:41 the Lord said, Whist! 38:44 Come on, somebody ought to say hallelujah tonight. 38:46 You read it. Don't tell me what you were on that list. 38:50 I'm going to show you another list tomorrow night. 38:52 But you were somewhere on that list. 38:54 And the Lord looked at us and said, I'm going to wash all 38:57 that stuff out of your life. Amen somebody! Amen! 39:04 What else? sanctified. 39:06 That means set aside for a holy use. 39:10 That means your sins were washed away; not by your credit, 39:14 but by Jesus' credit. 39:22 That's why John 8:36 says it this way. Are you ready? 39:35 Amen for that! The Lord doesn't make you half free, 39:40 He makes you completely free. 39:43 But now we've got to take it another step further. 39:46 Born of the water is the prerequisite, 39:51 but also being born of the Spirit. 39:54 Look at John 3:6. Here's the reason why. 40:01 What? flesh. Let me break that down. 40:03 I'll read the rest of the verse and then break it down. 40:07 Spirit is what? Spirit. 40:09 That means when you meet a person that's in the flesh, 40:12 all they talk about are things that concern the flesh. 40:17 And then the reason why I know they're in the flesh, 40:21 sometimes you say to people, Would you like 40:23 to come to church with me? 40:24 They say, Oh, no, no, no I don't want to go to church. 40:27 You know why? Because the nature of Adam is so alive, 40:31 and Adam wants to stay alive. 40:34 He wants, the Devil wants that person to be so lost, 40:36 and he has trained them so well to be turned off to Spiritual 40:41 things that the moment that you introduce something Spiritual, 40:45 the demon's present say, No, don't do that! Don't do that! 40:50 Cause if you do that we won't destroy you in the end. 40:54 What you've got to understand, it's not about 40:57 church membership. 40:58 It's about being saved or being lost, 41:01 not about just joining a church. 41:04 It's a serious battle. 41:06 When the battle in heaven ensued it was over the life, and mind, 41:10 and destiny of every man, every woman, every boy, every girl 41:13 that will ever be born. 41:15 There's a battle going on over your life tonight. 41:17 And the Devil on one side says, Naw, you don't need 41:22 to worry about that. You've got time. 41:24 But if you read the Bible, not even the Devil has time. 41:29 Amen? The Bible says he knows he has a what? a short time. 41:34 He doesn't have much time, but he wants us to think, somehow, 41:38 that we can go on living how we're living and fool ourselves 41:42 into thinking that just before the doors of the plane close, 41:47 we can slide in past the flight attendants. 41:49 I learned something very interesting, my brother. 41:52 I learned that the plane don't, the doors of the plane don't 41:56 close at the moment the plane leaves. 41:59 The doors of the plane close a half hour 42:03 before the plane leaves. 42:06 The door might close on some of you and you won't even know it. 42:14 And the Lord is there in the terminal at the airport. 42:16 Would so and so please come to Gate 49? 42:20 Your plane is about to depart. 42:22 And there they are sitting down and having a latte or 42:26 looking at the newspaper. 42:27 And their voices echoing through the terminal, 42:29 and they can't even hear it. 42:30 You know why they don't hear it? 42:32 Because they've deafened their ears to the sounds, 42:34 because, you know what? 42:35 When you're sitting in the airport there's always talk 42:38 going on in the airport. 42:40 They're always calling somebody, some gate change, 42:43 some flight number. 42:44 And you get so used to hearing it that you just shut your ears 42:47 down and say, Let me just enjoy this newspaper. 42:50 And then when your name comes up over the same loud speaker, 42:53 it's being echoed over and over, Can so and so... 42:56 The flight is about... 42:57 The doors are closing in ten minutes. 42:59 Please come to gate number whatever. 43:02 But you become so accustomed to shutting your ears down 43:05 to the voice of the Spirit of God that you sit there until 43:09 you wonder, When is my flight going to leave? 43:11 And you go to the gate and they're gone. 43:14 That's what's happening. 43:16 It's called probation. 43:17 Our world is living on probationary time. 43:20 And the message I'm preaching tonight is not a wonderfully 43:23 designed message from a preacher from New York, or from Illinois, 43:26 or from 3ABN, but it's a call of God to say to you, 43:29 Listen, God is calling you. 43:31 This is the terminal of life. 43:33 And rather than being left in the terminal of life, 43:36 and be terminally lost, He's saying, This is the opportunity 43:40 to get onboard before the doors of mercy close. Amen! 43:44 It's a serious matter. 43:49 But so many people are born of the flesh that the flesh 43:54 has dominated them. 43:55 But tonight not only am I going to tell you that you need to be 43:59 born of the Spirit, but I'm also going to be revealing to you 44:02 how you get the power to live the life that the Lord has 44:08 called you to live. 44:11 Listen carefully. Before we have the power to live the new life, 44:20 we've got to get rid of the power that 44:25 controlled our old lives. 44:29 Before we can have the power to do something that's right, 44:33 we've got to get rid of the power that worked in us 44:37 to continually do that which is wrong. 44:40 There are always two powers controlling. 44:43 Either the Lord is controlling, or Satan, or the power, 44:48 the nature of Adam is at work. 44:50 I told you last night, when Adam sinned he passed on to every one 44:55 of us the best he could, and that is a fallen nature. 44:59 What kind of nature did I say? 45:00 A nature that begs for everything it wants; 45:04 selfish nature. A nature that has no desire 45:08 for Spiritual things. None at all! 45:11 So in order for us to get the new power that can control 45:18 our lives, the power that once controlled us has to die 45:22 in order for that new power to be made alive. 45:25 To make it even clearer, Jesus is not moving in 45:29 till Adam moves out. 45:33 That old man's got to be gone before Jesus comes in. 45:37 And then He promises He's going to do something. 45:39 Look at John 1:12. He promises He's going to do something when 45:43 we make the room for Him to come in. 45:46 Notice what He said. 45:53 When you received Him. 45:54 Remember last night I said take the ticket 45:56 when you get the ticket? 46:09 He said, If you just believe on Me, I can give you the power. 46:14 How many of you tonight want the power to live right? 46:16 Come on, raise your hand. 46:17 I'm raising mine too because I don't need the power when I just 46:20 got baptized, I need the power every day. 46:26 But you might think in reading that verse that all you are 46:30 required to do is believe. 46:32 That's the deception. 46:34 Some people said, I'm a believer. 46:35 You know, that don't mean anything. 46:37 The Devil is also a believer. 46:38 You don't think so? read the Bible. 46:40 Some people say that Satan does. 46:42 Some people say that ah, that they're trying to... 46:44 Well, let me just be very clear. 46:47 Those that deny the existence of Jesus ought to ask the Devil. 46:56 He knows Jesus exists. 46:58 That's why he's trying to keep you from accepting the man 47:01 he knows will make a difference in your life. 47:03 That's why to be an atheist is ridiculous. 47:05 Why would you have a movement against somebody that you don't 47:08 even, you're not even convinced exists? 47:10 Does it make sense? 47:12 Doesn't make any sense at all. 47:15 When the Lord comes into your life, He gives you power 47:17 not only to believe, but look at James 2:20. 47:21 The Bible makes it clear. 47:22 I know this is going to be a two part message. 47:24 You cannot miss tomorrow night. 47:27 Look at James 2:20. 47:40 Has no power whatsoever. 47:43 So somebody might say, I'm a person of great faith. 47:46 What does that mean? 47:48 That means your faith needs to be followed by an action. 47:51 To say, I believe in Jesus, to say, I believe He can save me, 47:55 is like getting a check in the mail, and you're sitting in your 47:58 house broke because you don't want to get up and go get the 48:01 check out of the mail. 48:02 Somebody said, What happened? 48:04 Your lights got turned off. 48:05 Well, I'm waiting for the check. 48:06 Well, they sent it to you a month ago. 48:08 I'm just waiting for the check. 48:10 Somewhere along the way you've got to stop being 48:12 too lazy to be saved. 48:14 Get up and go to the mailbox and get the check. 48:20 Accept the redemptive ticket. 48:22 He's offering it. Accept it while it is there. 48:25 The Bible says, Seek the Lord while He may be what? found. 48:29 Call on Him while He is what? near. 48:31 You know, when you read the Bible account... 48:33 And now archeologists and scientists have coalesced 48:36 together and they said they do believe that there was a flood 48:40 that covered the earth. 48:42 They don't want to add faith to it or God to it. 48:47 But they said there had to be some major... 48:49 They call it the deluge. 48:51 When you read the story in the Bible, there were those that 48:56 heard Noah continue to preach 120 years, 48:59 calling for people to get on the ark. 49:00 And they continued ignoring the voice of God through Noah 49:03 until the doors closed. 49:04 And I am sure that when the door closed and they had seven days 49:09 to think about the fact that they ignored the voice of God 49:12 all that time, what they wanted more than anything else 49:16 is for that door to open for them to go in. 49:18 When we are done here in London, my prayer to God is that 49:24 somebody has the wisdom enough, and the spiritual fortitude 49:30 enough to hear God's voice calling him or her that they may 49:34 go in before it is ever too late. 49:36 What do you say? Amen! 49:38 Because if all you do is believe, that's not enough. 49:41 Look at Mark 16:16. 49:43 If all of you believe... 49:45 If all you do is believe, that's not enough. The Bible says in 49:59 If you don't believe... 50:01 You see, belief in Jesus requires an action. 50:03 Following Jesus is not just an intellectual exercise. 50:07 Following Jesus is a way of life. 50:10 Following Jesus is a full way of life. 50:14 When Jesus comes into your life, He affects 50:16 everything about your life: the way you think, 50:18 the places you go, the attitudes you have. 50:22 Everything about your life is affected 50:25 by the presence of Jesus. 50:27 Having Jesus in your life is like a woman getting pregnant. 50:32 You ready? When a woman gets pregnant 50:37 she changes the way she eats. 50:40 Come on ladies, help me out. 50:42 Some husbands have said, My wife eats some strange stuff. 50:47 And when he asks her, Why do you eat that way? 50:49 She says, Honey, because of the baby. 50:50 The baby requires the change. 50:52 And all of a sudden, after a certain amount of months, 50:58 a woman cannot hide the fact that she is pregnant. 51:02 Because what happens ladies? 51:04 Come on, help me. What happens? 51:05 The baby begins to show. 51:08 If Jesus is being born in your life, somewhere along the way 51:11 you can't hide the fact that Jesus is being born in you. 51:14 What do you say? Amen! 51:15 The baby begins to show. 51:20 I remember when my Sister-In-Law was pregnant, and I accompanied 51:24 her downtown in New York City. 51:26 And we got on the bus. 51:27 And I was with her. 51:28 My wife was away at college. 51:30 And I was with my Sister-In-Law. 51:32 And two older ladies looked at us both 51:34 and thought I was the father. 51:35 And they said, Oh, how cute, how nice! 51:39 She had this glow on her face like a lamp shade. 51:43 Ladies, you know when Jesus... 51:46 When a baby is on the inside of a woman, there's a glow there. 51:48 Somebody say amen to that. Amen! 51:50 They say there's a glow there. 51:51 But when Jesus is on the inside of your life, 51:54 there ought to be a glow. 51:55 You ought to let your light shine. 51:57 Something else, something else. 52:01 They say after a certain amount of time the woman 52:04 changes the way she dresses. 52:05 Hold on now! Not because she wants to, but she can't dress 52:11 the same way she did before, because the 52:13 baby makes the change. No amen required. 52:16 They gotta put on those maternity clothes. 52:19 They gotta say to people, There is something happening 52:22 on the inside of me. 52:23 When Jesus is on the inside, every change that happens 52:26 in your life is not made because you want to make it, 52:29 but it's made because Jesus makes the change. Amen! 52:33 Not only that, they tell me that women, when they get to a 52:35 certain point they start walking like a duck. 52:37 Jesus will change the way you walk. 52:41 And you know what? Because of that, women that are further on 52:46 in their pregnancy, they hold onto their husband's hands 52:50 more tightly than before. 52:51 You know why? Because they cannot afford to fall. 52:55 That's Spiritually powerful! 52:57 Unto Him that's able to keep you from what? falling. 53:01 All the changes made in your life are made because 53:04 the baby is on the inside. 53:06 And then finally they tell me, you know the doctor 53:09 may be really good. 53:11 He might be able to predict the day that baby 53:12 is going to be born. 53:13 But the fact of the matter is, No man knows the day nor the 53:15 hour in which the Son of Man cometh. Amen? Amen! 53:20 You gotta get your bags packed. 53:21 You gotta be ready, because when the moment comes you can't be 53:25 fiddling around looking for clothing. 53:26 You, all of you said to your husband, It's time! 53:29 Well, brothers and sisters tonight, it's time. 53:32 Come on somebody, say amen! It's time! 53:34 The rest of the message is... 53:36 You can't, you cannot afford to miss tomorrow night. 53:39 The rest of the message is about what time it is. 53:42 How is that transition made? 53:44 What does baptism have to do with washing away the past? 53:48 Tomorrow night you're going to see how beautiful, how beautiful 53:52 the transaction is for the change that Jesus wants to 53:56 make into your life. 53:57 Tonight I'm going to make an appeal. 53:59 Can you give me a card, young lady? 54:00 There's a card in front of you. 54:01 Just pass me one of those. 54:03 Thank you very much. 54:04 Tonight I'm going to ask you some questions. 54:06 Tim would you play softly for me? 54:07 I want to ask you some questions tonight. 54:09 Matter of fact, I'm going to do it a different way. 54:11 Tim would you play that song for us really quick? 54:13 Because tonight I want to ask you a question. 54:15 I'm talking about washing away the past. 54:17 Washing away what friends? 54:18 How many of you want your past washed away? 54:25 Notice I'm not doing this to help you. 54:27 I'm doing this to help me. 54:28 All of us, by the grace of Jesus, need to have our past 54:33 what? washed away by the blood of the Lamb, 54:37 by His mercy, by His grace. 54:40 Every day He's cleansing and renewing us. 54:45 And so sometimes He says, If you really want your past 54:48 to be washed away, I want You to take me to the water. 54:53 Tonight, if there's somebody here tonight that wants to say 54:59 by standing, you want to say by standing. 55:02 I'm not going to ask you to come down tonight. 55:04 But you want to say by standing, Pastor John, 55:07 I want my past to be washed away. 55:11 I want to be washed in the blood of the Lamb. 55:14 I want a brand new beginning. 55:17 I want to know that my past is gone, my present makes sense, 55:21 and my future is redeemed. 55:23 Is there somebody here tonight that wants to 55:24 have that assurance? 55:26 Anybody here has anything they want to wash away? 55:28 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! 55:31 Anybody else? Anybody else? 55:34 Anybody else has anything they want to wash away? 55:38 That's right! That's right! That's right! That's right! 55:43 That's right! The Lord wants that past to be washed away. 55:49 So as I sing these verses, just a short verse of this song, 55:53 Take Me To The Water, if your desire tonight is for your past 55:56 to be washed away, the doors of the church are open. 55:58 The Lord knows where you've been, what you've done, 56:01 what you're ashamed of. 56:03 Tonight He's saying, Brother, Sister, no matter your age, 56:06 you can come to the water, and you can accept that cleansing 56:11 power, that cleansing grace of Jesus, that cleansing blood that 56:15 can only make the difference in your life. 56:17 So as I sing this song, I want you to be in an attitude of 56:20 prayer, because there's somebody else here tonight that wants 56:22 that past washed away. 56:31 Take me to the water to be baptized. 56:38 Bury me with Jesus the crucified. 56:47 Plunge me in the fountain and may I rise with open eyes. 57:00 Take me to the water to be baptized. 57:13 My Heavenly Father, my Heavenly Father, tonight if there's 57:19 somebody here that needs the past washed away, 57:23 they need the present redeemed, and they want their 57:27 future to make sense. 57:29 Gracious Heavenly Father, we pray that we can turn to Jesus 57:34 and know that through Him redemption, and forgiveness, 57:38 and a new beginning is available. 57:42 We don't have to stumble, and live in fear wondering whether 57:46 or not we're going to be forgiven. 57:48 But we can trust Jesus with our hearts, 57:51 and our hands, and our lives. 57:54 We can say, Lord, we want Your cleansing to change my mind, 58:00 my way of living, my daily walk. 58:03 Give me a dedication, Father, that will outlast the 58:07 pleasures of this life. 58:08 Give me a new beginning that will help me to see that the 58:14 greater pleasure can never be found in this world 58:17 but only in walking with You, and in the world to come. 58:22 And so, Lord Jesus, tonight we commit ourselves 58:25 to Your saving grace. 58:26 Wash away our past, we pray, and give us this brand new 58:31 beginning in Christ. 58:33 For I ask this in Your precious and cleansing blood. 58:39 In Jesus' name I pray. 58:41 And all of God's people said, Amen! |
Revised 2016-10-27