Participants:
Series Code: AAO
Program Code: AAO000006A
|
00:10 Good evening, it's good to see everyone again.
00:13 Tonight, we're gonna be going on a little bit farther 00:16 and the name of our message is Ichabod, 00:20 the Glory Has Departed. 00:22 I want to give a quick overview of why the title? 00:28 It comes from 00:29 1 Samuel 4:19-22, 00:36 and I'm gonna just do this in a very abbreviated way. 00:40 What had happened is the children of Israel 00:43 were there in the land of Canaan 00:46 and their arch-enemy the Philistines had attacked. 00:52 And the High Priest Eli, his two sons were priests, 00:59 but they were not God fearing men. 01:02 And Israel knew that whenever they went into battle, 01:06 for them to win 01:08 they had to take the throne of God before them. 01:14 That's what the Ark of the Covenant is. 01:16 You have a covering cherub on each side, 01:18 you have a mercy seat, it's the throne of God, 01:23 it was a symbol of where He dwells. 01:28 And they went into battle and they were not doing well 01:32 and to the best of my memory, 01:34 Hophni and Phinehas said we need the Ark. 01:37 And they did not have permission from God 01:39 to take the Ark but they took it anyway. 01:42 And they went into battle 01:44 and because they had taken the Ark 01:46 but did not have God's blessing, 01:49 they were defeated terribly. 01:52 And a messenger came running back to Eli, 01:56 and when he got back to Eli, he said, we've lost, 02:00 I mean, Israel has been defeated. 02:04 The Ark or he said your two sons have been killed 02:08 and the Ark of the Covenant has been taken by the enemy. 02:13 When Eli heard that, 02:17 he fell off of his chair and broke his neck and died. 02:22 One of his two son's wife was pregnant, 02:27 almost ready to give birth. 02:30 And on the moment 02:34 when the delivery was about to happen, 02:37 she heard this news and she cried out Ichabod, 02:43 the Glory Has Departed. 02:47 The glory of God rested upon that Ark of the Covenant. 02:51 What was underneath of the mercy seat? 02:55 The law of God. The law of God. 03:00 I want you to make a note of that 03:01 because we're gonna talk about that tomorrow. 03:06 God's law or the law of God, 03:11 if you can think about it in a different way, 03:17 it's not just something that belongs to Him. 03:20 The word God in Greek is Theos, it means deity and divinity, 03:25 and I know that's God Almighty. 03:27 But that's what the word, 03:29 we're just looking at what the word means? 03:31 The law, the word in Hebrew is Torah, 03:35 it means instructions. 03:38 It doesn't mean command simply, it means instructions. 03:43 With this computer, I have code in the computer, 03:47 when I buy the computer brand new, 03:50 it has laws code that is written inside of it. 03:54 It says, if I press enter 03:58 this is what the computer is supposed to do. 04:00 If I press back space or escape, 04:05 this is what the computer is supposed to do. 04:08 God's instructions are like a code. 04:13 There are instructions in righteousness, in purity, 04:16 in holiness, in victory. 04:20 The law of God is the law of what it takes 04:25 to have the divine nature. 04:29 That's why David said, King David, 04:31 "Thy law have I hid in mine heart, 04:35 that I might not sin against thee." 04:37 Your instructions I have put inside of my heart. 04:43 So when the law of God is no longer being kept, 04:49 the glory of God is no longer upon the throne. 04:54 If you remove the Ten Commandments 04:57 from the throne, 04:58 you have a form of godliness, but you have no power. 05:02 Does that make sense? 05:11 "And she named her child I-chabod and said, 05:15 the glory is departed from Israel, 05:18 for the ark or the throne of God has been taken. 05:27 Marvelous beyond expression 05:29 is the blindness of the people of this generation. 05:33 There are few who have any just conception 05:36 of the deceptive power of Spiritualism." 05:40 Many people play with it, they think, 05:42 "Well, I'm not gonna go that far, I'm just gonna, 05:45 I'm just gonna buy Ouija board, 05:47 or I'm just gonna bring this movie home, 05:49 or I'm just gonna bring this music home, 05:51 I'm not gonna go that far." 05:53 It only takes one bite. 05:57 "Few who have any just conception 05:59 of the deceptive power of spiritualism 06:02 and the danger of coming under its influence. 06:06 Thousands reject the Word of God 06:09 as unworthy of belief, 06:12 and yet with eager confidence 06:15 they receive the deceptions of Satan. 06:19 So fully have they yielded to the tempter, 06:24 so closely are they united with him, 06:30 and so thoroughly are they imbued with his spirit, 06:34 that they have no power and no inclination 06:38 to break away from his snare." 06:41 Do you remember in our last message, 06:43 we talked about yoga, 06:44 but how it means to be yoked to or joined to. 06:48 In the very first message or second one, 06:51 we talked about how these Hollywood stars 06:54 and musicians had become joined to evil spirits. 06:59 They had invited them into their lives 07:03 and sometimes people say, "Well, I'm not gonna that far? 07:07 I'm just, it's just a little sin." 07:09 Ellen White says of Judas when she talked about him, 07:13 the Bible says, 07:15 "Christ looked at the 12 disciples, He said, 07:18 'Have I not chosen you 12 07:20 and yet one of you is a Devil.'" 07:24 Ellen White said, 07:26 "The demons name was selfishness. 07:32 She named it and she listed a lot of other names 07:36 that are there. 07:37 Spirits are named for what they do 07:41 or for what their character traits are. 07:44 That's what they do. 07:48 Selfishness caused Judas to lose eternity, 07:54 not just his physical life. 07:59 Says the prophet, "I saw three unclean spirits 08:03 like frogs, words, tongues, 08:07 and they are the spirits of devils, 08:10 working miracles, 08:11 which go forth unto the kings of the earth 08:14 and of the whole world for one reason, 08:18 to gather them 08:19 to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." 08:25 You can read Revelation 19-21 08:28 and it actually talks about the fact 08:30 that when Christ is returning, 08:34 the kings of the earth and their armies 08:36 will gather themselves together to make war with him 08:41 that's sitting on the horse. 08:43 And I'm not gonna take time to go into this in depth, 08:46 but have you ever considered something. 08:49 When Christ returns the second time, 08:52 it's a physical event, 08:55 I mean, physically He really is travelling 08:58 all the way from heaven to here. 09:01 Did you know that astronomers will see Him coming 09:07 before we do? 09:10 If they are looking in outer space, 09:13 they can see a year ahead of time 09:16 when the comet's coming. 09:19 Have you ever considered that? 09:21 And do you know that the number one, 09:25 the most expensive and elaborate telescope array 09:30 in the entire world is owned by the Vatican. 09:34 And the name of it used to be the Lucifer Project, 09:39 but they got so much flack and controversy over it, 09:44 that they changed it and then called it Lucy. 09:47 It's an acronym noun, and they said it means this, 09:51 but it was originally called the Lucifer 09:53 or Light Bearer Project. 09:56 They are watching outer space 09:59 because they are preparing for this event. 10:04 "Except those..." Listen to this. 10:07 "Except those who are kept by the power of God, 10:11 through faith in His Word, the whole world will be swept 10:18 into the ranks of this delusion. 10:21 The people are fast being lulled into a fatal security, 10:26 to be awakened 10:27 only by the outpouring of the wrath of God. 10:33 As Spiritualism more closely imitates 10:37 the nominal Christianity of the day, 10:40 it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. 10:44 Satan himself is converted 10:46 after the modern order of things. 10:49 He will appear in the character of an angel of light." 10:55 You see, there on the left hand of the screen 10:58 a book by Peter Tyler called "The Return to the Mystical." 11:02 This is a book on returning back to the Roman Catholic, 11:06 Desert Fathers and the Mystics. 11:09 On the far right, you see another book 11:12 which I did not include the details on 11:15 because I don't want me buy, to go and try to purchase it, 11:20 it was called "The Yoga of Jesus." 11:23 And they actually are telling people 11:25 that the miracles of Jesus did, 11:28 anybody can do because Jesus did this 11:30 because He understood pantheism in the Hindu practice of yoga. 11:36 In the center, there is a book and a series 11:42 that was released within the last 12 years, 11:46 it's called "A Course in Miracles." 11:49 Oprah Winfrey was the one that promoted this book 11:53 in this series. 11:55 "It was published in 1976 by Dr. Helen Schucman, 12:00 with the help of William Thetford 12:02 and Judith Skutch. 12:04 The manuscript was said to be dictated to her 12:08 by a "voice which claimed to be "Jesus," 12:14 this voice began speaking to her in the years 1965-1972." 12:21 This is coming right out of the '60s 12:23 when you had all the new age and Hindu practices 12:27 coming into the United States of America. 12:30 "After receiving the first few messages, 12:33 Dr, Schucman contacted the daughter 12:36 of renown psychic Edger Cayce..." 12:39 Remember, we talked about him in our second or first message. 12:44 "She contacted the daughter of Edger Cayce for advice 12:49 on what she should do with the teachings 12:51 which were being given to her. 12:54 The series was aired worldwide by Oprah Winfrey 12:58 beginning in January 1, 2008." 13:02 Ten years ago, 13:05 Oprah Winfrey is said to have the largest church in the world 13:09 because of her audience. 13:13 Now, I'm gonna be careful here before I go any further, 13:17 I'm gonna read some statements that are in that book 13:22 that was dictated by this entity 13:26 that claimed to be Jesus. 13:28 I'm gonna read this 13:30 and I'm asking that you will ask the Lord to help us 13:34 as we are hearing this. 13:35 These are all lies of the devil. 13:39 On page 45, it says, "God is in everything I see." 13:45 On page 70, it says, "My mind is part of God's, 13:50 I am very holy. 13:52 My holiness is my salvation 13:55 and my salvation comes from me!" 13:59 Page 99 says, "God does not forgive, 14:03 because He has never condemned." 14:07 Page 10 says, "A slain Christ has no meaning." 14:12 Page 11-12 says, 14:14 "Do not make the pathetic error of clinging 14:17 to the old rugged cross. 14:19 For the journey to the cross 14:21 should be the last useless journey." 14:26 Page 13 says, 14:28 "The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol. 14:33 It is a symbol that is safely used 14:36 as a replacement for the many names 14:39 of all the gods to which you pray." 14:44 Page 15 says, 14:46 "The recognition of God 14:49 is the recognition of yourself." 14:53 This was promoted heavily by Oprah Winfrey, heavily. 14:59 Now, I want to show a video clip, 15:03 and we're gonna take a look at this, 15:04 it's about two and half minutes long 15:07 and then we'll continue. 15:12 Our first show, 15:14 maybe 10,000 people worshiping, celebrating, 15:19 each of them having his own personal experience with God. 15:23 This is clearly faith in the God in you, 15:28 your inspiration, your power. 15:35 God is so many things to so many people. 15:41 The warm light of the sun... 15:47 the sound of sweet music, 15:50 and inner voice that drives us forward, a friend. 15:57 If you ask me who God is? 16:00 I would say, 16:01 "There's a bit of divine in all of us. 16:04 There's God in you, there's God in me." 16:07 The God in me 16:10 is who I really am at my core. 16:15 The God in me is the best version of me. 16:21 The God in me is to who I strive to be, 16:26 who I was meant to be. 17:59 That is startling. 18:01 The first clip that we just viewed 18:03 is from a three hour documentary 18:07 where Morgan Freeman goes around the world 18:10 and interviews people of different religious faiths. 18:14 There was one part in particular 18:16 that really shocked me was when he was doing an interview 18:19 with Pastor Joel Osteen and that was the end. 18:24 And then he came out and he said, 18:26 "God is in everyone." 18:30 The exact same thing that we're hearing 18:33 all these Eastern Mystics say. 18:36 And you think, why are we hearing this now. 18:40 And then you heard earlier where we actually quoted 18:45 one of the Japanese masters and he said, 18:50 "There's many paths up Mount Fuji, 18:54 but there is only one summit, love." 18:57 All of those people said the same thing. 18:59 We worship different, we have different names for God, 19:02 but we believe in love. 19:04 The Bible says, 19:06 "This is the love of God that we keep His commandments 19:12 and His commandments are not grievous." 19:15 This is how you know who truly loves the Lord God 19:22 if they're willing to follow and obey Him. 19:25 Now, I want to identify some of the new age gurus 19:30 that we're seeing now. 19:32 And we're gonna take that into the emergent church 19:36 and the spiritual formation that we're seeing. 19:39 Here we have Oprah Winfrey with three very, very popular guests 19:44 that are on her show. 19:45 The first man over to the left, 19:47 his name is Eckhart Tolle or Eckhart Tolle. 19:50 He is a strong new ager, has written many books. 19:55 The man at the top is Tony Robbins. 19:59 This man is one of the most popular motivational speakers 20:04 in the world. 20:05 This is the type of man 20:06 I was talking to you about earlier 20:08 that came to address those masters 20:11 in the martial art circle. 20:13 He teaches people something that Norman Vincent Peale did 20:18 called the power of positive thinking. 20:21 It's not of God. It's not faith in God's Word. 20:25 It's faith in self. 20:27 And then right below that you have Oprah with her show 20:31 called Sunday's Super Bowl Sunday 20:34 and she's doing an interview 20:36 with one of the spiritual formation 20:38 and emerging church leaders name Rob Bell, Pastor Rob Bell. 20:44 Eckhart Tolle, you'll have to forgive me 20:48 because I have got a slide that I forgot to edit. 20:53 He said, "Heaven is not a place. 20:57 It's not a physical place. 21:01 It is a realm of consciousness." 21:06 He said, 21:07 "I am the source of my own salvation." 21:15 Deepak Chopra founded a wellness system 21:18 based on a combination of Western medicine 21:22 and Ayurvedic principles of health and spirituality. 21:26 Due to his dissatisfaction with the ability 21:30 of conventional Western medicine 21:32 to help his patients. 21:34 Chopra's teachings about the human being 21:37 and its wellness are based on Hindu pantheism. 21:42 He is also a well respected 21:45 and often seen guest on Oprah show. 21:50 He said, "Thus the 'divine' pervades the entire universe 21:54 as well as human beings, 21:56 and every person has divinity within himself or herself." 22:02 Chopra goes on and writes, 22:04 "We remain unfulfilled 22:07 unless we nurture the seeds of divinity inside us. 22:13 In reality, we are divinity in disguise, 22:18 and the gods and goddesses in embryo 22:23 that are contained within us 22:26 seek to be fully materialized." 22:31 He's talking about demons, 22:33 he's talking about fallen angels. 22:38 This is a quote that I have heard so many Christians, 22:43 even of our church repeat to me. 22:46 "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, 22:51 we are spiritual beings having a human experience." 22:55 This quote comes from a book called 22:58 "Chicken Soup for the Soul," 23:00 which many Christians are running out and buying. 23:03 They have no idea who the quote came from. 23:07 It came from a man named Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. 23:12 He's a Jesuit priest. 23:14 He is also been a advisor to the UN on spirituality. 23:25 Ellen White says, "The warnings of the Word of God 23:28 regarding the perils 23:30 surrounding the Christian church 23:32 belong to us today, 23:35 just as in the days of the apostles, 23:38 men tried by tradition and philosophy 23:42 to destroy faith in the scriptures. 23:46 So today, 23:47 by the pleasing sentiments of higher criticism, 23:52 evolution, spiritualism, 23:56 theosophy and pantheism, 23:59 the enemy of righteousness is seeking to lead souls 24:03 into forbidden paths. 24:06 This is a book by Brian McLaren. 24:08 He's a well-known pastor in the emerging church. 24:11 He's a strong supporter of spiritual formation. 24:14 The name of the book is called "Why Did Jesus, Moses, 24:19 the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?: 24:23 Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World." 24:26 What he just did was he made all of those men equal, 24:31 He put them all on the same level. 24:36 Today, these same teachings are being suddenly introduced 24:39 into the Christian church. 24:42 This is a university, if I remember correctly, 24:44 that is in Oregon, Biola University. 24:48 They are one of the strongest proponents 24:50 of spiritual formation 24:52 The MN Fox University, 24:55 that we have a book over here to the left called 24:58 "Spiritual Formation in Emerging Adulthood, 25:02 A Practical Theology for College 25:05 and Young Adult Ministry." 25:08 This book is being promoted even within our denomination, 25:14 in our universities. 25:17 For those that are practicing or that have to take classes 25:21 in spiritual formation for a theology major. 25:26 When you go into those classes, 25:28 the instructor or professor will give you 25:30 recommended reading and you have young adults 25:34 that often look up to their professors, 25:37 and they go and they buy the recommended reading 25:39 because they want to do the best they can 25:42 when they're in school. 25:46 Acts of the Apostles, page 474, we're told, 25:50 "To many the Bible is as a lamp without oil, 25:54 because they have turned their minds 25:57 into channels of speculative belief 26:00 that bring misunder-standing and confusion. 26:03 The work of higher criticism, in dissecting, 26:08 conjecturing, reconstructing, 26:12 is destroying faith in the Bible 26:14 as a divine revelation. 26:17 It is robbing God's Word of power to control, uplift, 26:23 and inspire human lives. 26:26 I want to pause there for a moment. 26:27 There's a verse in Scripture 26:30 that I would like for you to look up with me, 26:33 it's 1 Thessalonians 2:13. 26:39 The Apostle Paul says, 26:42 "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, 26:48 because, when you received the Word of God, 26:53 which you heard from us, 26:55 you received it not as the word of a man or the word of men." 27:01 The word of man is yay or nay or maybe. 27:05 I can tell you, I'm going to be here. 27:07 I can tell my wife, 27:08 I'll be there to pick you up at 5 o'clock, 27:11 and there's a traffic accident, 27:13 they have the interstate closed off. 27:16 I cannot find a way around and I show up at 7 o'clock 27:20 and she says, "Honey, what happened to you?" 27:22 And I'm like there, "I couldn't do anything. 27:25 I was stuck on a four lane interstate. 27:28 I had no way to get around it." 27:30 I meant to be there, but I can't guarantee it. 27:37 Paul says, "When you receive the Word of God 27:39 what you heard from us, 27:41 you didn't receive it as the word of men 27:44 yay, nay or maybe 27:48 but you received it 27:49 as it is in truth in verity, 27:54 the Word of God, the Word of deity, 27:59 which effectually worketh 28:02 also in you that believe." 28:08 "By Spiritualism, multitudes are taught to believe 28:12 that desire is the highest law, 28:15 that license means liberty, 28:18 and that man is accountable only to himself." 28:23 Now we want to look at some quotes 28:25 from some very well-known emergent church 28:28 and spiritual formation teachers and leaders. 28:32 Brian McLaren, well-known pastor, he said, 28:37 "The Bible is not considered an accurate, absolute, 28:42 authoritative or authoritarian source, 28:47 but a book to be experienced, 28:51 and one experience can be as valid as any other can. 28:56 Experience, dialogue, feelings, 28:59 and conversations are equated with Scripture, 29:04 while certitude, authority, and doctrine 29:08 are to be eschewed or distained." 29:12 He doesn't want of thus saith the Lord. 29:15 He says, this is just supposed to be something 29:17 that you read and you discuss and you talk about it, 29:21 but you can't depend on this 29:23 as being absolutely right or wrong. 29:27 He says, "No doctrines are to be absolute, 29:31 and truth or doctrine must be considered 29:35 only with personal experiences, 29:38 traditions, historical leaders, etc. 29:42 The Bible is not an answer book." 29:46 This is a pastor. 29:49 You want to see why people are having a form of godliness, 29:52 but no power? 29:54 And that goes even in our church. 29:59 Marcus Borg, he said, "Seminary also introduced me 30:03 to the 'historical' study of Jesus." 30:08 That means the higher criticism or critical. 30:11 Looking at Jesus from a secular historical standpoint 30:16 and of Christian origins. 30:19 "I learned from my professors 30:20 and the readings they assigned me 30:23 that Jesus almost certainly was not born of a virgin. 30:29 He did not think of himself as the Son of God, 30:33 and he did not see his purpose 30:35 as dying for the sins of the world." 30:39 This is exactly what we read from the people in the 1800's. 30:43 This is what Thomas Jefferson wrote the Jefferson Bible. 30:47 Jesus was not born of a virgin, that's miraculous. 30:52 Borg goes on and says, 30:53 "I also found the claim when I was in seminary 30:58 that Jesus and Christianity were the only way of salvation 31:03 to be troublesome." 31:06 He was bothered by that. 31:11 Pastor Rob Bell, 31:14 "Now from way back when our ancestors understood 31:17 that there's something divine about our breath. 31:22 They believed there's something sacred 31:25 and holy about the every act of breathing." 31:30 And then he goes on 31:32 in this sermon that he gave in 2005, 31:35 he says, "Central to the Christian tradition, 31:38 for thousands of years have been disciplines of meditation, 31:42 reflection, silence, and breathing." 31:46 That's never been part of the Christian religion, 31:48 that's been part of Roman Catholicism and paganism. 31:52 And he says, "The yoga masters say this is how it is 31:56 when you follow Jesus and surrender to God." 32:00 And then he ends with a quote that is scary, he says, 32:04 "I wonder sometimes 32:06 when we feel as though God is far, God is thinking 32:10 'I gave you breathing, I can't get closer than that.'" 32:16 Us breathing is not God, 32:19 it's a gift that God gives us 32:21 to be able to breathe that oxygen in. 32:26 Pastor Tony Campolo says, 32:28 "Mysticism provides some hope for common ground 32:33 between Christianity and Islam." 32:37 And I'm not gonna go into this, 32:38 because I can spend two hours on that. 32:42 I know right now within our church, 32:44 we're seeing just like 32:45 all the other Protestant churches, 32:48 we're seeing a very strong push to indoctrinate people 32:53 and introduce people to the idea 32:56 that Allah and Jehovah are the same God, they are not. 33:01 When you look at their character 33:03 and when you read the Quran, the Quran says, 33:06 "Allah cannot have a son." It's impossible. 33:12 And the Bible says, 33:13 "Whoever denies the Father and the Son is antichrist." 33:18 I don't believe Islam is antichrist. 33:20 I believe they're the daughter of antichrist. 33:24 He says, "Both religions, Christianity and Islam 33:28 have within their histories examples 33:32 of ecstatic or esoteric union with God, 33:36 which seem at odds with their own spiritual traditions, 33:41 but have much in common with each other. 33:44 I do not know what to make of the Muslim mystics, 33:47 especially those who have come to be known as the Sufis. 33:53 What do they experience in their mystical experiences? 33:57 Could they have encountered the same God we do 34:01 in our Christian mysticism?" 34:07 Pastor Alan Jones says, 34:10 "The image of the child Jesus sitting on the Buddha's lap 34:15 appeals to me 34:17 and captures the spirit of my book," 34:21 called Reimaging Christianity or Reimagining Christianity. 34:26 "It is an image of the Kingdom. 34:29 The Kingdom is a sort of short-hand 34:31 signifying an inclusive community of faith, 34:36 love and social justice." 34:40 This is Roman Catholicism, but he says, 34:44 "I can picture in my mind 34:47 Jesus sitting on the Buddha's lap." 34:53 The son of almighty God, 34:57 and yet people are buying his books 34:59 even within our church. 35:03 Brian McLaren in his book "A Generous Orthodoxy" says, 35:08 "I don't believe in making disciples 35:10 must equal making adherence to the Christian religion. 35:16 It may be advisable in many circumstances 35:20 to help people become followers of Jesus 35:24 and yet remain within their Buddhist, 35:28 Hindu, and Jewish context. 35:31 Buddhists who feel so called 35:34 will become Buddhist followers of Jesus, 35:38 and they should be given that opportunity and invitation." 35:44 How do you follow Christ Jesus 35:49 and yet participate in things 35:53 that He came to set us free and save us from. 35:59 Pastor Rick Warren, 36:02 he said almost the same identical thing, 36:06 "You can keep your own religion Buddhism, Islam, 36:12 Hinduism, Mormonism, 36:15 you just need to add Jesus to the equation, 36:19 then you become complete. 36:22 You become a Buddhist with Jesus, a Hindu with Jesus, 36:26 a Muslim with Jesus and so on. 36:29 You can even throw out the term Christianity 36:35 and still be a follower of Jesus. 36:38 In fact, you can throw out the term Christian too. 36:41 Because in some countries you could be persecuted 36:45 for calling yourself a Christian, 36:47 and there is no need for that. 36:50 Just ask Jesus into your heart, 36:54 you don't have to identify yourself as a Christian." 36:59 Jesus said, "Whosoever is ashamed of Me and My words, 37:03 I will be ashamed of them." 37:08 The book this man wrote that took the world by storm, 37:14 "The Purpose Driven Life," 37:17 and you would not believe 37:18 how many Seventh-day Adventist Christians have read 37:22 or already in the book, and they don't know. 37:25 They have no idea. 37:31 Great Controversy, page 561, 37:36 "Except those who are kept by the power of God, 37:41 through faith in his word, the whole world will be swept 37:46 into the ranks of this delusion. 37:49 The people are fast being lulled into a fatal security, 37:53 to be only awakened 37:55 only by the outpouring of the wrath of God." 37:58 That fatal security is you thinking 38:01 or someone thinking, 38:03 I don't really have to surrender 38:05 my whole heart to God. 38:07 I'm always gonna be in sin until Christ returns. 38:11 There is no way you can be perfect. 38:13 There's no way that you can live a life 38:16 victorious over every sin. 38:18 I ask people when they call, I say, 38:21 "I used to drink a lot of alcohol. 38:23 Now I used to drink a lot of alcohol. 38:26 I don't drink anymore, 38:28 I haven't had a drop of alcohol since I was 22 years old. 38:32 If God gave me victory over that, 38:35 can He not give me victory over every other sin? 38:41 The Bible says, "We limit the Holy One of Israel." 38:45 Ellen White says, 38:46 "We expect the meagerest of showers of blessing, 38:52 that's why we receive so little." 38:55 She said, "If we would ask for the fullness 38:59 of the divine presence, we would receive it." 39:02 The Bible says, 39:04 "Of Christ fullness we have received." 39:09 We are joint heirs with Him 39:13 in whom dwells the fullness 39:16 of the Godhead bodily." 39:21 That means we can lay hold on Christ, 39:25 and as we surrender 39:27 every room of His temple to Him, 39:32 He will fill the house with His glory. 39:39 Christ says through the Prophet Malachi," 39:43 Behold, I will send my messenger, 39:47 and he shall prepare the way, 39:49 or the path before me, and the Lord. 39:53 The sovereign King, whom you are seeking, 39:57 shall suddenly come to his temple, 40:01 even the messenger of the covenant, 40:04 in whom ye delight. 40:06 Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. 40:10 But who may abide the day of his coming? 40:14 And who shall stand when he appeareth? 40:17 For He is like a refiner's fire, 40:21 and like fullers' soap. 40:23 And he shall purify the sons of Levi, 40:27 and he will purge them as gold and silver, 40:31 so that they and we may offer unto the Lord 40:36 an offering in righteousness." 40:40 Do you know the Bible says 40:42 that we are to present our bodies 40:44 as a living sacrifice? 40:47 God wants us to offer an offering to Him in holiness, 40:53 in innocence, and in perfection. 40:56 And what we struggle with so often is, how can I do this? 41:02 How is it possible for me to do this? 41:06 I want to read something to you. 41:07 Turn with me to Micah Chapter 7. 41:11 This verse has become... 41:12 I read this almost every single day 41:16 because this one verse 41:18 and its companion verse in the Luke 41:23 say so much. 41:26 Micah 7:18-20, 41:32 listen to what the Lord says here. 41:36 He says, "Who is a God..." 41:40 And the word God there in Hebrew, it's Elohim. 41:44 Do you know what the word Elohim means? 41:46 The mighty one or the mighty ones. 41:50 When we say God, it literally is telling us, 41:54 I am able to do exceeding abundantly 41:58 above everything you could ask or imagine. 42:01 "Who is a God like unto thee, 42:04 that pardons iniquity, 42:08 that passes by the transgression 42:11 of the remnant of His heritage?" 42:14 The word iniquity here in Hebrew 42:16 means perversity and mischief. 42:20 The word transgression means rebellion and apostasy. 42:24 People will tell me, I think I've gone too far, 42:28 I don't think God can forgive me for this one. 42:30 This was too big. 42:31 I'm like, right here He says 42:33 and He says it in Exodus Chapter 33, 42:37 "I forgive iniquity, and transgression, and sin." 42:42 Iniquity is perversity and mischief. 42:45 It means perversity not just moral perversity 42:49 but it means it's a perverse arrow. 42:51 If I have a straight arrow, I know when I shoot it, 42:54 it's gonna hit the mark, 42:56 but if that arrow has got a little crook in it, 42:59 it'll never hit the mark. 43:01 It's almost like when you go to the fair, 43:03 and have one of those mirrors that's got curves in it. 43:07 And you know what you look like, 43:08 you look at the regular mirror and you go, "That's me." 43:11 And then you step over in front of the other one, 43:13 and you go, "Oh, wow." 43:15 It makes you look like you're this wide, 43:17 and this tall. 43:18 That's perverse, it's not the perfect, 43:22 it's not the way it was designed. 43:25 It says, "Who is a God like unto thee, 43:28 that pardons iniquity, 43:31 and He passes by or passes over the transgression, 43:37 the rebellion and the apostasy of the remnant 43:40 of His heritage. 43:42 He retaineth not his anger forever, 43:45 because He delights in mercy." 43:50 He delights, it means He goes. 43:53 I can't wait to show 43:55 what I'm gonna do in this person's life, 43:58 and I'm gonna do it because they don't deserve it 44:00 and they're helpless without me. 44:04 "He will turn again." 44:06 It means He had His back turned to us 44:08 'cause He was ashamed of what we were doing. 44:11 "He will turn again, 44:13 He will have compassion upon us, 44:16 He will..." 44:19 If you want to know what the will of God is, 44:21 find a place where He says He will do something. 44:25 That's His will. 44:27 "He will subdue your and my iniquities, 44:34 and thou will cast all of our sins 44:37 into the depths of the sea." 44:39 Now listen to this. 44:41 "Thou will perform thy truth to Jacob." 44:47 What did Christ tell Jacob? 44:50 I'm gonna change your name. 44:52 Jacob means a swindler, or somebody who trips the guy 44:57 in front of them so they can win the race. 45:00 Christ said, "I'm changing your name, 45:02 it'll no longer be Jacob, but Israel." 45:05 That means one who is victorious. 45:09 "Thou will perform thy truth to Jacob 45:13 and thy mercy to Abraham, 45:16 which thou hast sworn to our fathers 45:18 from the days of old." 45:20 He made an oath. 45:23 He swear that He would do this. 45:26 Now turn with me to Luke Chapter 1, 45:29 and let me show you where He fulfilled it. 45:31 Luke 1:67-75, 45:36 and I'm gonna just highlight these verses. 45:39 This was John the Baptist's father speaking 45:42 under inspiration of the Spirit of God. 45:45 He says, 45:46 "Blessed be or praise be the Lord God of Israel, 45:50 for He has visited and redeemed his people. 45:55 And hath..." 45:57 Hath means past tense, right? 46:00 Hath is not I'm gonna do it sometime in the future. 46:04 "He hath raised up a horn, 46:07 a mighty one of salvation for us 46:10 in the house of His servant David. 46:13 As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, 46:17 which have been since the world began. 46:20 That we should be saved from our enemies 46:25 and from the hand of all that hate us. 46:29 To perform the mercy 46:31 which He promised to our fathers 46:33 and to remember His holy covenant." 46:37 Covenant means an oath. 46:39 It's not a contract, it's not an agreement, 46:42 it's an oath. 46:44 And he says that in verse 73, "To remember His holy covenant, 46:50 the oath which He sware to our father Abraham 46:55 that he would grant unto us." 46:59 Let me ask you a question. 47:00 What's the difference between the school loan and the grant? 47:06 A school loan, you've got to pay back. 47:09 I mean, people get school loans and they're paying them back 47:11 sometimes for ten years. 47:14 A grant, there's no pay back necessary. 47:19 God knew what He was doing 47:20 when He inspired this book to be written, 47:23 "That He would grant unto us, 47:27 that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies 47:32 might serve Him without fear." 47:35 It doesn't say that you've got to get free 47:38 and then God will accept you. 47:40 It says God sets you free, 47:42 so that you then can serve Him without fear, 47:48 in holiness and righteousness before Him 47:52 all the days of our lives. 47:56 Amen. 47:58 Halleluiah. 47:59 We're trying to do it the other way around. 48:02 If I can just clean my act up, 48:04 God will accept me and maybe He'll give me His Spirit. 48:07 Ellen White says, 48:09 "Without the Holy Spirit, you can't do anything but sin." 48:13 She said, "Not even for one moment." 48:16 She said, "We cannot keep ourselves from sinning 48:21 even for one moment 48:24 without Christ and His Spirit." 48:28 That's inspiring, 48:31 and I want to tell you something, 48:32 I don't preach cheap grace. 48:35 It's free, but it cost your life. 48:40 As we surrender, the promise is yay and amen. 48:46 It's guaranteed because He cannot lie. 48:53 "And they shall be mine saith the Lord of host, 48:57 in that day when I make up My jewels." 49:01 You remember the New Jerusalem, it talked about the foundation, 49:06 all those beautiful jewels that it was made out of, 49:09 and you remember the walls of Jerusalem, 49:12 they were as clear as jasper and they were 144 cubits high. 49:18 That's the 144,000. 49:22 That New Jerusalem is a picture of us. 49:25 Yes, I know it's a real building, 49:27 but it also is a symbol of us as God's people. 49:32 He says, "In that day I will make up my jewels, 49:35 and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son 49:39 that serve with him. 49:41 Then shall ye return 49:43 and discern between the righteous and the wicked. 49:47 Yea, between him that serveth God 49:50 and him that serve Him not. 49:53 And I saw another angel come down from heaven, 49:56 having great power, 49:58 and the earth was lightened with His glory." 50:02 You know, this world is in darkness right now. 50:05 They are waiting to hear good news. 50:11 They don't just need another set of facts 50:16 to add to their collection, they need glad tidings. 50:22 And that's what Christ came to share, 50:27 and this angel cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, 50:31 "Come out of her, my people, 50:33 that you be not partakers of her sins, 50:36 and that you receive not of her plagues. 50:39 For her sins have reached unto heaven. 50:42 And God has remembered her iniquities." 50:48 The other night, we talked about that 50:50 in the promise of the new covenant, 50:52 God said your sins and iniquities 50:54 will I remember no more. 50:57 I want you do something. 50:58 Go home and get your Strong's Concordance out 51:00 or if you have e-Sword on your computer, 51:03 it's a free program. 51:05 I encourage everybody to use it. 51:07 Look up that word remembered. 51:10 He says it in Micah, He says it in Psalms 130, 51:15 "Oh Lord, if thou should us mark iniquities, 51:18 who should stand? 51:20 But there is forgiveness with thee 51:22 that thou mayest be feared." 51:24 Look those words up. 51:26 Do you know what the word remembered means? 51:29 It means to mark down and keep record of. 51:34 When you ask Christ to forgive you, 51:39 it's gone. 51:41 He takes that sin upon Himself and He died 51:46 and took that to the grave 2000 years ago. 51:51 It will never be brought back to you again. 51:55 People tell me, 51:56 "Yeah, but there's books of record kept in heaven." 51:58 Let me ask you a question. 52:00 How many sins do you have to commit to deserve death? 52:05 One. 52:06 Jesus doesn't have to keep a huge book of every sin 52:10 you've committed, and confessed, and repented of. 52:15 All you got to do is let go of Him 52:17 and you're gonna sin within the hour, 52:19 that's all it takes for you to be lost. 52:23 He says, 52:24 "Your sins and iniquities 52:26 will I remember no more." 52:32 "We are standing upon the threshold 52:35 of great and solemn events. 52:38 Prophecies are fulfilling. 52:40 Strange, eventful history is being recorded 52:43 in the books of heaven. 52:45 Everything in our world is an agitation. 52:49 There are wars and rumors of wars, 52:53 the nations are angry and the time of the dead 52:56 has come that they should be judged." 53:00 I'm not negating what we know about the judgment, 53:04 but I want to add something to that. 53:09 Do you remember where Jesus said, 53:10 "Let the dead bury their dead." 53:13 How does a dead person bury somebody else? 53:16 They were spiritually dead. Right? 53:19 That's what Jesus was saying. 53:21 They don't know Me, they don't accept Me, 53:24 they are as good as dead. 53:26 They're living on death row. 53:29 Paul tells us, 53:30 "We had the sentence of death in ourselves 53:34 from the day we were born, we were born on death row." 53:40 He says, "But we were done that way, 53:42 so that we would not trust in ourselves 53:44 but in God that raises the dead." 53:49 The time of the dead has come that they should be judged. 53:52 Who did the plagues fall upon? 53:55 Those that have not Christ, 53:59 they are spiritually dead. 54:03 You have judgment that is passed on somebody 54:08 and they go to the tank, solitary confinement, 54:13 maybe a man murdered a bunch of people. 54:15 Solitary confinement. 54:17 The day comes where judgment has to be executed. 54:21 That's the seven last plagues. 54:24 "Only a moment of time, as it were, 54:27 remains in this time of prevailing iniquity, 54:32 we may know 54:33 that the last great crisis is at hand! 54:38 Transgression has almost reached its limit. 54:41 Confusion fills the world, 54:44 and a great terror is soon to come upon human beings." 54:50 This is not just talking about the second coming of Christ, 54:54 the end is very near. 54:57 We who know the truth, 55:00 that means the unfailing verity of Christ's word 55:04 should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world 55:10 as an overwhelming surprise! 55:17 That overwhelming surprise the Apostle Paul talks about 55:22 in 2 Thessalonians, 55:25 I'm gonna read a verse 2 to you from there. 55:30 2 Thessalonians 2:4, 55:36 it's talking here about the man of sin. 55:39 It says, "Who opposeth and exalts himself 55:42 above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, 55:46 so that He as God sitteth in the temple of God, 55:50 showing Himself that He is God." 55:53 And then Paul says, 55:56 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work." 56:00 And he talks about this mystery of iniquity 56:04 that there is going to be a man 56:07 that will actually be filled with the spirit of Satan. 56:12 Satan, 56:13 I believe will literally take possession of a human being. 56:19 And I believe a day will come 56:22 when he will be unmasked. 56:26 And do you know what the world will say 56:29 when they see? 56:33 When they see him unmask 56:36 and there's this brilliance and glory, 56:40 they're gonna say, "Man has become a God." 56:46 And we're gonna show that's exactly 56:48 what the occult and Eastern mysticism 56:50 are all striving for. 56:53 For man to reach that point of Godhood. 57:00 It says, "Even him, 57:02 whose coming as after the working of Satan 57:05 with all power and signs and lying wonders." 57:10 I believe that, 57:12 that man of sin we have in the Vatican right now, 57:18 beyond a shadow of a doubt. 57:21 And I believe the day is going to come 57:24 when like Revelation says, "He'll be unmasked." 57:29 And it says, 57:31 "That those that have followed him 57:37 are gonna turn on him." 57:40 Right now what is coming, 57:43 Ellen White said this would be an overwhelming surprise. 57:46 She said, "We're not to even go look." 57:49 She said, "It will be the over mastering delusion. 57:53 If you even turn the television on 57:54 to see what he looks like, 57:56 it'll be more than what a mortal can explain away. |
Revised 2019-02-25