Participants:
Series Code: AAO
Program Code: AAO000007A
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00:09 Good evening, it's good to see everyone here again.
00:13 This evening's message is called 00:14 "A King Shall Reign: Rebuilding the Temple of God." 00:20 And I want to open to a text of scripture 00:23 in Haggai Chapter 2. 00:26 Last evening when we were here, 00:28 we talked about Ichabod the Glory Has Departed, 00:32 and we want to look at that again 00:34 as we continue through this study. 00:38 In the days of Nebuchadnezzar, 00:41 when he came to take Jerusalem 00:44 on the last and final, 00:48 the last and final surrounding of the city. 00:53 Ellen White as well as Josephus indicate 00:58 that one of the prophets, 01:00 and I believe Josephus indicates 01:02 that it was probably Jeremiah. 01:05 But one of the prophets 01:07 had secreted the Ark of the Covenant away. 01:11 They did not want that ark to be taken again 01:14 as that had been in King David's day. 01:18 And because that ark was taken away, 01:23 you had a span of between four and five hundred years 01:27 where there was no ark behind the veil. 01:33 So when Jesus came to the earth 01:36 and He went into the temple in John Chapter 2, 01:39 and He said, you know, "Destroy this temple, 01:42 and in three days I will raise it up." 01:45 Most Christians do not realize 01:48 that at the time that He was speaking, 01:50 there still was no Ark of the Covenant 01:53 behind the veil. 01:55 Now, as an example of that, 01:57 the Scripture tells us 02:00 that people in the last days 02:03 will have a form of godliness 02:06 but no power thereof. 02:09 That was what that was a symbol of. 02:11 They went through the motions every single day, every week, 02:16 every month and even every year, 02:19 and you have to think about Day of Atonement. 02:22 You know, when the high priest 02:23 was supposed to go within the veil 02:26 and sprinkle the mercy seat. 02:29 For almost 500 years there had been no mercy seat. 02:34 What they did, I don't know. 02:36 It would be interesting to find out, 02:39 but the Jewish people, 02:41 I'm sure some of the priesthood knew, 02:43 but the majority of the Jewish people 02:46 had no idea. 02:47 They went in, 02:49 and they were going through the motions, 02:50 and there was no ark 02:54 behind the veil. 02:57 Now because of that, 03:00 when the children of Israel were set free 03:02 from Babylonian captivity after 70 years. 03:08 When they went back 03:09 under the direction of Nehemiah and Ezra 03:12 to rebuild the city of Jerusalem 03:15 and to rebuild the temple, 03:17 they began laying the foundation stone 03:20 and getting everything prepared. 03:22 And once they got everything ready, 03:25 there was a shout that went up. 03:28 And it talks about that here in Haggai, 03:31 and it's interesting too 03:32 because it says in verse 1 of Chapter 2, 03:36 "In the seventh month, 03:39 in the one and twentieth day of the month," 03:43 that was called tabernacles. 03:46 Another name for tabernacles is God with us. 03:49 That was in the Jewish economy that was... 03:52 That day or that holy period 03:57 that they celebrated right after Day of Atonement. 04:02 Now, the Advent Movement originally 04:05 before we were known as Seventh-day Adventist 04:07 if you look up all the historical documents, 04:10 we were known as the Seventh Month Movement 04:13 because we had been studying about Day of Atonement 04:16 and what happened on Day of Atonement 04:18 in the seventh month. 04:20 So this scripture 04:22 has a great deal of importance to us 04:25 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 04:28 but what's amazing is this. 04:31 When this shout went up 04:32 from the thousands of people that were there, 04:36 the older men of God 04:38 that could remember Solomon's temple, 04:41 they were weeping, 04:43 and the young men were shouting for joy, 04:46 the ones that had not seen Solomon's temple. 04:49 And it tells that you couldn't distinguish 04:52 who was weeping and who was shouting 04:56 and then it actually ask the question, 04:59 the Lord asked the question, he says, 05:03 "When you look at this house that has been rebuild, 05:07 what is it in comparison in your eyes 05:11 to that what Solomon had build." 05:14 Solomon's temple was 05:15 one of the seven wonders of the world. 05:18 I mean, everyone in the world 05:20 wanted to see what had happened there. 05:23 Under Solomon's reign, Jerusalem was, it was unreal. 05:28 They said that gold and silver 05:30 were like the stones on the street. 05:32 That was literal. 05:33 There was so much wealth and prosperity there 05:37 as long as Solomon was living for the Lord. 05:41 But because of Israel sins 05:43 that's why they had been sent into captivity 05:46 and the throne of God had been hidden away. 05:50 So now these young men were so excited 05:53 because they knew once the temple is rebuilt, 05:58 God will show us where the throne is, 06:01 the Ark of the Covenant. 06:03 And once that throne is there, 06:06 the King will return to reign. 06:11 That was important 06:13 because with the King on the throne, 06:15 they knew, I'm talking about the Lord God, 06:19 they knew no one can defeat us. 06:21 None of our enemies, 06:23 we will not go back in the captivity again. 06:26 Now listen to what it says in verse 6. 06:30 It says, "For thus saith the Lord of hosts: 06:34 Yet once, it is but a little while, 06:39 and I will shake the heavens and the earth, 06:42 and the sea, and the dry land. 06:47 And I will shake all nations, 06:50 and the desire of all nations shall come." 06:56 That's where we get the title, the Desire of Ages. 06:59 And if you want a reference for this, 07:01 when you get home, 07:02 look up Hebrews 12:25 through 29 07:06 because it quotes this verse for our day. 07:11 It says, "I will shake all nations," 07:14 that means "all the tribes of the earth, 07:16 and the desire of all nations shall come. 07:21 And I will fill this house with glory, 07:25 saith the Lord of hosts. 07:27 Now, I want to stop there for a moment. 07:31 In our previous study, 07:32 we looked at the fact that God said 07:36 that "From the very beginning of creation, 07:39 it was His purpose that every created being 07:43 should be a temple for Him to dwell in." 07:47 Does everyone remember that? 07:49 Okay, when Adam and Eve sinned, 07:53 because of sin, 07:55 God had to step out of that temple. 08:00 And a temple without the presence of God 08:03 is dark. 08:05 Have you ever considered that? 08:07 In the most holy place was the glory of God. 08:12 In the holy place, you only had one form of light. 08:15 That was the seven lamps. 08:17 And those lamps were supposed to be a reflection of the glory 08:22 that was behind the veil. 08:25 If you took the glory out from behind the veil, 08:28 darkness came upon the tabernacle. 08:32 The only light left was just the candlestick, 08:35 the menorah, 08:37 and without God's presence there, 08:39 the menorah is meaningless. 08:44 He says, 08:45 "I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord." 08:50 The desire of nations was that the King would return, 08:55 that the glory would be brought back 08:58 into the temple. 08:59 Not just a physical temple, 09:02 but for those that had spiritual eyesight, 09:06 the temple that we are. 09:09 What happened with sin was the light went out. 09:14 We lost that garment of light. 09:17 But the desire of all nations 09:20 is for that light to be brought back. 09:25 And the Lord goes on in verse 9, and He says, 09:28 "And the glory of this latter house 09:31 shall be greater than of the former, 09:34 saith the Lord of hosts, 09:36 and in this place, 09:40 I will give peace." 09:44 In what place? 09:46 Jerusalem. 09:48 The word Jerusalem means the city of peace. 09:53 But have you ever considered that Christ is the temple, 09:57 He is the sanctuary? 10:00 And in Him, the Apostle Paul says 10:03 in Ephesians Chapter 1 and 2, 10:06 "We have been given perfect peace." 10:11 The last promise Jesus gave to us 10:13 before Calvary was 10:15 "My peace give I unto you. 10:18 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 10:22 Then I used to read that, it was just words on a page, 10:25 but it hit me one day. 10:28 I know what it feels like if I slip and fall into sin, 10:32 and everybody does. 10:34 But what if you've done... 10:36 What if you've done worse than slip and fall? 10:39 What if you were tempted, 10:41 and you knew it was a temptation 10:43 and you yield it anyway. 10:46 Some people, you know, 10:47 maybe they get victory in two or three days. 10:50 There's been times in my life 10:51 where I would go for a month or more struggling 10:56 to hear God's voice again 10:59 and Christ tells us, 11:02 "My peace give I unto you." 11:06 Jesus never had one single day in His entire life 11:12 that He was afraid 11:14 He had lost the presence of God. 11:16 The only time He ever even hints at that 11:22 was when the sins of the world 11:24 were being laid upon Him in Gethsemane and on Calvary. 11:28 He woke up every single day 11:31 rejoicing to go and meet His Father. 11:34 He was never guilty. 11:36 He was never worried about, have I messed up? 11:40 Is God angry at me? 11:42 And Christ makes a promise to us 11:44 in John Chapter 13, 14 and 15. 11:47 He says, "My peace I give to you. 11:52 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 11:56 He knew He was going to take our sins 12:01 upon Himself. 12:03 The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, 12:06 "God has made Christ to be sins for us 12:12 who knew no sin. 12:14 He laid upon Him the iniquities of us all." 12:21 God goes on in 1 Samuel and in Zachariah, 12:25 and He says, 12:26 "And I will raise Me up a Faithful Priest, 12:31 that shall do according to that which is in Mine heart." 12:35 And Jesus said, already said, 12:37 "I delight to do Thy will, Oh My God. 12:40 Yea, Your law is within My heart." 12:44 God said, "I will build him a sure house, 12:50 and he shall walk before mine anointed forever." 12:55 That's talking about you and I. 12:57 Christ will go before us, 13:00 and Christ will be our rearguard. 13:05 Zachariah 6 says, 13:06 "And he shall build the temple of the Lord, 13:10 and He shall bear the glory. 13:13 And he shall sit and rule upon His throne, 13:18 and He shall be a Priest upon His throne, 13:23 and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." 13:28 And I want to... I want to make a note of this. 13:30 This is an important text of scripture. 13:34 There's only one other person in the entire Bible 13:39 that was king and priest at the same time, 13:44 Melchizedek. 13:46 And it says, "Christ was made a high priest 13:50 after the order of Melchizedek." 13:53 I grew up thinking 13:56 that Christ was wearing the robes of a high priest. 14:00 But one day He'll take those robes off, 14:03 and He'll sit down and He'll be anointed King. 14:06 Read the last chapter of Desire of Ages. 14:10 She tells that He was inaugurated as King 14:14 when He ascended on high. 14:17 He is both priest and king 14:21 at the same time. 14:24 We're not waiting for Him to take the throne. 14:27 Go through the New Testament 14:29 and look up every single verse where it says, 14:32 when He ascended on high, 14:33 He sat down 14:35 at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 14:43 Jesus answered and said unto them 14:45 in John Chapter 2, 14:48 "Destroy this temple, 14:50 and in three days I will raise it up! 14:53 Then said the Jews, 14:55 'Forty and six years was this temple in building, 14:59 wilt thou rear it up in three days?' 15:03 But this Jesus spake of the temple of His body.'" 15:08 Ephesians 5 says, "Which temple we are. 15:14 For we are members of His body 15:18 and of His flesh and His bones." 15:23 Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, 15:26 and in three days, I'm going to raise it up." 15:29 A lot of times people will, they'll quote 15:32 what the devil whispers to them. 15:34 You know, the devil knows the Bible. 15:36 I mean, you know, he knows the Bible. 15:37 He twists the scriptures. 15:39 He quoted scripture to Jesus, but he twisted it. 15:44 Ellen White says, "Satan is a legalist. 15:47 He does not understand mercy. 15:50 He wants the full extent of the law 15:53 for every transgressor." 15:55 That's why when Christ came to resurrect Moses, 15:59 Satan resisted him. 16:01 He said, "He sinned, 16:02 Your law says the wages of sin is death." 16:06 And Christ said, "The Lord rebuke thee." 16:09 Christ said, "I know, I'm going to pay for his sin. 16:13 It's done, 16:14 I already gave My word and I cannot lie. 16:16 I am verily God, 16:18 I cannot lie. 16:21 I made a covenant with My Father in heaven 16:24 before the foundation of the world." 16:26 And do you know what that covenant was? 16:29 Read it in Patriarchs and Prophets, 16:30 the first two chapters. 16:32 She said that the Father called His Son 16:37 into that unapproachable glory 16:40 and He told His Son, I want to have a family. 16:43 We have got a huge house, 16:47 but it's just angels. 16:49 I want sons and daughters, 16:52 not just sons and daughters by creation, 16:55 like an angel could be, 16:57 they're ministering servants. 17:00 I want children 17:01 and he told His Son, we're going to have a family. 17:05 And you can imagine, 17:06 you know, with sanctified imagination 17:09 how Christ must have felt 17:10 knowing He's not going to be an only child anymore and He... 17:15 Proverbs Chapter 8 says, 17:16 "His delights were with the sons of men." 17:19 That's why Christ loved to come down here 17:21 with Adam and Eve. 17:23 That was His greatest pleasure during the day. 17:27 The Father looked at His Son and He said, 17:29 "But they're going to fall, 17:31 and there's only one way 17:35 that we can redeem them." 17:38 And He explained to Christ 17:39 that Christ would have to become a human being. 17:44 He would have to take our nature 17:47 in its fallen condition, 17:49 not just like it was the day after Adam fell, 17:53 but after 4,000 years 17:57 of man falling to sin. 18:01 And I want to interject a thought here too. 18:03 Ellen White also says, 18:04 "We are not to make Christ identical to ourselves." 18:08 She said, "That's an impossibility." 18:11 We're born with one nature, fallen. 18:15 Christ was born with two natures, 18:18 man's fallen nature, 18:20 and the very nature and presence 18:23 of Almighty God within, 18:26 and through the power of His Father's Spirit, 18:31 the Holy Spirit dwelling within Him, 18:33 He conquered sin in fallen human nature. 18:39 Now, what happened was, 18:42 the Father told His Son, 18:45 "You're going to have to bear their sins." 18:48 That doesn't mean just simply take the beating 18:51 for what they did wrong. 18:53 If we go through our lives thinking that's all Christ did, 18:56 it gives us a terrible picture of our Father in heaven. 19:01 Ellen White says that 19:02 Christ actually felt the guilt and the shame 19:07 for the sins, iniquities and transgressions 19:11 of every human being that has ever lived 19:16 as if He had committed them Himself. 19:20 When He was on Calvary, 19:22 He felt like what I felt 19:26 when I had abandoned my wife and children. 19:28 He felt my guilt and your guilt 19:32 for every wrong thought and act we've ever committed 19:37 for the entire human race. 19:40 And God looked at His Son and said, 19:43 "This is what's going to have to take place." 19:45 And you know what Christ did? 19:47 He didn't even hesitate. 19:50 He put His hand out 19:52 and He said, "Daddy, Abba, 19:55 I'll bear the sins of every human being, 20:00 even if I never see life again." 20:05 And do you know what His Father did? 20:08 And I have to imagine 20:11 that it was with tears in His eyes. 20:14 He put out His hand to take His Son's hand, 20:19 and He said, 20:20 "If You will bear their sins, 20:24 I swear to You, 20:26 I'll forgive every one of them, 20:28 and I'll raise You from the dead." 20:32 That is the counsel of peace that was between them both. 20:37 And when Christ was there at Calvary, 20:40 and He couldn't see past the portals of the tomb, 20:43 it was His human nature. 20:45 But at the very last, He said, 20:47 "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit." 20:52 That was the faith 20:54 that My Father cannot lie. 20:58 Hallelujah. 21:02 "From eternal ages, it was God's purpose 21:05 that every created being, 21:08 from the bright and holy seraph, 21:10 an angel to man, 21:12 should be a temple for the indwelling 21:14 of the Creator. 21:16 But because of sin, 21:18 humanity ceased to be a temple for God. 21:22 Darkened and defiled by evil, 21:24 the heart of man 21:26 no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One." 21:31 Now, listen to this. 21:33 The work of God in the creation of man 21:37 needed no undoing. 21:40 There was nothing imperfect, 21:44 nothing incomplete. 21:46 He spake, and it was done! 21:49 The very dust of the ground 21:51 from which man was formed was pure, 21:54 and the breath of life 21:56 which God breathed into his nostrils was holy. 22:01 He was placed in Eden, the garden of God, 22:04 and its atmosphere was undefiled. 22:08 And from the beams of the sun in the heavens, 22:11 which blessed and cheered the earth, 22:13 to the fountains and streams that watered the garden, 22:17 all was holy." 22:19 That means it was perfect. 22:21 The way God created, 22:23 everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be. 22:29 "In the creation of God before the entrance of sin, 22:33 every part of nature was in perfection. 22:38 God had nothing to take down as unnecessary to His plan. 22:44 He needed to set into operation no power 22:48 by which to dispossess." 22:53 Do you understand what that means? 22:55 We've been talking about possession, 22:57 how evil spirits come into a human life. 23:01 He says everything was... It was perfect, it was holy. 23:06 He needed to inaugurate no opposing force. 23:11 But through the calamity of sin, 23:13 the work of disintegration was begun, 23:16 and the beautiful temple of God's building 23:20 was defiled and laid in ruins. 23:24 God no longer was a dweller in the heart of man." 23:31 I want to look at something for a moment, 23:34 and this is important. 23:37 Right now, within Christian circles, 23:40 and especially within our denomination, 23:42 within our church, 23:44 we have a lot of people that struggle 23:47 with the idea of obtaining Christian perfection. 23:51 That's an issue. 23:52 Do you know why it's an issue? 23:54 Because they've been trying for 20, 30, 40 years 23:58 to do it on their own, and they can't get it. 24:02 So you know what happens 24:03 when you strive, and strive, and strive, 24:06 and it just doesn't seem to work. 24:08 You go, "Obviously, 24:10 God doesn't expect us to be perfect, 24:12 I've tried and it didn't work, so there's got to be another. 24:16 I'm missing something." 24:19 But God made Adam and Eve perfect. 24:22 And you know what's amazing? 24:24 I don't know why we struggle 24:27 so much with the idea of perfection. 24:29 Do you know that the entire world 24:33 desires perfection? 24:35 If you're a young man and you go to the Olympics, 24:40 you strive with everything in you. 24:43 You don't want an 8.7, or an 8.9, or a 9.4, 24:48 you want a 10. 24:51 You want it to be perfect. 24:54 And you know, it's funny, 24:56 I'm going to pick on the ladies for a minute. 24:58 If you think perfection is not desired 25:00 by the entire world, 25:02 look up online how much money is spent in one year? 25:07 by the health and beauty industry, cosmetics. 25:13 They all want perfection. 25:15 Every woman out there looks in the mirror 25:18 when she gets up in the morning 25:19 and probably thinks at least for a moment, "Oh wow, 25:24 I don't look like I did when I was 20." 25:27 That's why the industry 25:30 is making billions upon billions of dollars. 25:34 God put within the hearts of every man and woman 25:40 the desire to return to Eden's perfection, 25:45 even the heathen, they don't even realize it, 25:49 but they want that so bad 25:52 and you can, I'll pick on the men now 25:54 because, you know, I'm there with you. 25:56 You know, I can remember going in. 26:00 We'll just pretend like it was this morning 26:02 and I'm, you know, bending over the sink 26:04 to brush my teeth, 26:05 and I look up in the mirror just for a second, I go, 26:08 "Man, there used to be more up there." 26:11 And men will go out and spend thousands of dollars 26:14 on whatever to try to fix that. 26:19 Or they'll look in the mirror sideways 26:21 and they're walking out of the bathroom 26:22 and they go, "That didn't used to look like that. 26:26 I'm gonna have to get one of those things, 26:28 a girdle to go around. 26:29 I need to start working out again." 26:31 And it is, God has put within the hearts 26:34 of every man, woman and child. 26:38 They want perfection. 26:41 What about Miss Universe or Miss America? 26:45 They want perfection. 26:47 That is something God put within us. 26:50 But Satan said, "I've got a better way, 26:53 an easier way that you can obtain it." 26:57 Listen to what a couple of the Eastern mystics, 27:01 and martial artists, and gurus say. 27:04 Forest E. Morgan, he's a major in the US Air Force. 27:10 I believe he was a third dan 27:11 or is a third dan, third degree. 27:14 He said, "The true budo aspirant..." 27:17 That means someone who is striving 27:19 in the art of Bushido, the art of war, 27:23 "devotes himself to a system of physical, 27:26 mental, and spiritual discipline 27:29 through which he attempts to elevate himself 27:33 in search of perfection." 27:39 Gichin Funakoshi, 27:40 he's the founder of modern day karate. 27:44 He said, "The purpose of martial arts competition 27:48 is not in winning or losing, 27:51 but in the perfection of the character 27:55 of its participants." 28:00 These men and I have hundreds of quotes. 28:06 These men and women that are involved in yoga, 28:09 and tai chi, and Eastern mysticism, 28:12 they're all striving for perfection. 28:15 Some of the internal arts will even tell you, 28:17 the goal is immortality. 28:21 They tell you that. 28:23 Some of the arts as you get higher up, 28:26 and I'm talking about after 10, 20 years, they'll tell you, 28:29 if you continue to practice this, 28:32 you will achieve nirvana or Buddhahood, 28:36 you become an immortal. 28:38 The Catholics call that sancting you. 28:41 You don't really die, 28:43 you go on to a higher state of existence. 28:47 Listen to what the Lord has inspired. 28:51 "Through heathenism 28:52 Satan had for ages turned men away from God, 28:57 but he won his great triump 29:00 in perverting the faith of Israel." 29:05 Faith, that means trusting God's Word. 29:11 "By contemplating 29:13 and worshiping their own conceptions, 29:17 the heathen had lost a knowledge of God, 29:21 and had become more and more corrupt. 29:24 So it was with Israel." 29:27 Isaiah 58:8-11 tells us, 29:30 "The Lord says, 'My ways are not your ways, 29:34 neither are My thoughts your thoughts.'" 29:37 And, you know, a lot of times we think, 29:38 well, that means doing something. 29:40 I've got to bring myself into alignment 29:43 with what He's telling me to do. 29:45 He says, "My ways are not your ways." 29:49 If I want to do something, I think about it, 29:53 and then I have to take my hands 29:54 and go do it. 29:56 And sometimes I can have a thought 29:57 and my body, my muscles doesn't want to keep up 30:01 with what my mind has pictured. 30:03 God's not that way. 30:05 God doesn't do things that way. 30:07 God speaks, and it is. 30:11 That's the way God does things, all things. 30:14 He creates by His spoken word, 30:18 even a clean heart. 30:23 "The principle that man can save himself 30:27 by his own works 30:29 lay at the foundation 30:31 of every heathen religion, 30:34 and it had now become the principle 30:37 of the Jewish religion. 30:39 Satan had implanted this principle. 30:43 Wherever it is held, 30:45 men have no barrier against sin." 30:49 You want to know why we're losing people 30:51 in the church. 30:52 We're not losing them 30:54 because we don't have the right kind of music. 30:56 We're losing people 30:57 just like all the other churches 30:59 because they have been striving for years 31:02 in their own strength and willpower 31:05 to achieve that which it's impossible 31:07 to do on their own. 31:09 That's why God said, 31:11 "I'm going to give the last message 31:14 of love and mercy." 31:16 The three angels' message is righteousness, holiness, 31:21 victory, and perfection by faith 31:25 in My spoken Word. 31:30 Daniel, when he was in captivity, 31:33 he cried unto the Lord, and he said, Lord, 31:36 Daniel chapter 9, 31:38 "Let thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city, 31:43 Thy holy mountain, 31:46 because for our sins, 31:48 and for the iniquities of our fathers, 31:51 Jerusalem and Thy people have become a reproach 31:56 to all that are about us." 31:59 Let me ask you a question. 32:01 Are Christians are reproached to the world? 32:04 You better believe it. 32:06 Do you know what the world says? 32:09 You Christians are having the same amount 32:11 of sickness that we are, 32:12 you have the same amount of divorces we do. 32:16 You go to the same movies, you listen to the same music, 32:19 you dress the same way. 32:21 What's the difference between you and us? 32:25 Now, let me bring it home little bit closer. 32:29 In the days of the apostles, 32:32 right after Christ had went back to heaven, 32:35 they went forth with power, with power. 32:40 They healed the sick, they raised the dead, 32:42 they cast out demons, they cleansed lepers. 32:45 When's the last time you saw that in your church? 32:50 When's the last time somebody came to your church, 32:54 and they were in a wheelchair, 32:55 and they went home after the service walking, 32:59 and they never had to use the wheelchair again? 33:03 Ellen White tells us 33:04 why we don't see those kind of miracles. 33:08 She said, "Because we are not consecrated 33:10 as they were. 33:12 We're living double lives. 33:14 We're double minded. 33:16 We're still trying to hold on to a piece of the world, 33:20 or we're trying to do it in our own power 33:24 rather than surrendering and letting our God 33:28 and our Savior take possession of us. 33:32 She said, "If we would consecrate ourselves," 33:35 that means surrender everything. 33:38 She said, "The same power 33:40 that the apostles had 33:42 is ours." 33:44 And she said, 33:45 "Our church would be a terror to her enemies." 33:50 Look that phrase up, a terror to her enemies. 33:53 Can you imagine what it would be like 33:55 if you moved into a town here in California, 33:59 and the devil got nervous or the evil angels got nervous, 34:02 and they were like, "You know, what are we going to do? 34:06 So and so, John just moved in here." 34:08 Well, who is John? 34:09 John's that guy that believes in the set 34:11 and he lives it. 34:13 He lives for God. 34:16 We need to call for backup. 34:19 What if we caused them to tremble? 34:23 Do you know, Jesus promised that, 34:25 He said, "Upon this rock, I will build My church, 34:30 and the gates of hell 34:32 shall not prevail against it." 34:36 You know, gates of a city, they never attack anybody. 34:39 Have you ever thought about? 34:41 What does it mean 34:42 the gates of hell will not prevail against us? 34:46 Gates don't attack people, 34:49 people attack gates. 34:53 We're not called by God 34:55 to hold this little 24 inch square piece of ground 35:00 that we got when we gave our life to Jesus 35:03 and we're baptized. 35:04 That's how most of us live. 35:08 I've just got to stand here, and I'm trembling, 35:10 I'm working out my salvation with fear and trembling, 35:14 and I'm doing a lot of trembling. 35:17 God didn't call us to tremble and hold this piece of ground. 35:20 He told Moses and He tells us everywhere you put your foot, 35:26 I've already given it to you. 35:29 Go take the world. 35:33 And Ellen White says, "When the latter rain falls," 35:35 she said, "Men and women and even children 35:40 filled with the Spirit of the Living God will go forth 35:43 and nothing will stand before them." 35:47 And then she tells us, "Don't wait for it to fall. 35:51 God is waiting for us to claim it." 35:55 We don't sit here in the pew and say, 35:57 well, one day the latter rain will fall. 35:59 If you're waiting on it, it's never going to hit you. 36:04 You got to lay, hold on that promise 36:07 and claim it and say, 36:09 "God, I will not let You go until You fill me 36:13 with the fullness of Your presence, 36:15 because You swore, and You cannot lie. 36:19 Cleanse thy temple of my heart." 36:25 Daniel went on and he said, "Now therefore, O our God, 36:29 hear the prayer of Thy servant, and my supplications. 36:34 Let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away 36:37 from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain, 36:42 and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary, 36:46 which is desolate, for the Lord's sake," 36:50 for Christ's sake, not because of my sake, 36:54 not because of my righteousness, 36:55 for His sake. 37:00 Isaiah 32:1 and 16:5. 37:06 Listen to what the Lord promises us. 37:09 "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, 37:14 and princes..." 37:16 That word in Hebrew means sons and daughters. 37:19 "Princes shall rule in justice. 37:24 And in mercy shall the throne be established." 37:27 What was that top part 37:29 of the Ark of the Covenant called? 37:32 The mercy seat. 37:34 In mercy shall the throne be established. 37:38 And he shall sit upon it 37:43 in truth in the tabernacle of David, 37:47 judging and seeking justice, and hasting, 37:52 quickening to flow as water, righteousness." 37:56 Do you remember what Jesus said 37:57 in John Chapter 7? 37:59 Come unto Me all you that are thirsty, 38:02 and I will give you living water." 38:05 Do you know what the word living means? 38:06 It means life giving. 38:09 When we talk about the living God, 38:12 it means the life giving God. 38:15 He says, 38:17 "I will sit upon this throne in verity 38:22 in the tabernacle of David." 38:24 Look that phrase up in Acts Chapter 15, 38:26 and in the Old Testament, 38:28 it's beautiful what's there. 38:32 "Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, 38:36 and the wilderness be a fruitful field, 38:40 and the fruitful field be reckoned as a forest. 38:44 And the work of righteousness shall be peace or Shalom, 38:50 and the effect of righteousness shall be quietness 38:55 and assurance for ever." 38:58 Do you know how many Christians 39:01 don't have assurance? 39:05 And I'm gonna pick on those in our denomination 39:09 because I've been there, I was raised in it. 39:11 Do you know how many 39:13 Seventh-day Adventist Christians have no assurance? 39:17 Do you know you ask them, 39:19 if they have assurance of their salvation? 39:22 And you know what they'll say? 39:23 I hope so. 39:27 I mean, they're afraid. 39:29 I cannot tell you 39:30 how many Seventh-day Adventist Christians call me, 39:33 and they're afraid. 39:34 They're afraid of the time of trouble. 39:36 They're afraid of the close of probation. 39:39 And for some reason, 39:40 they think there's an event that's going to happen 39:43 and boom, all of a sudden, 39:45 they're going to have assurance. 39:46 What are you waiting for? 39:48 Are you waiting till the plague start 39:49 being poured out 39:51 and you look and go, 39:52 I don't have one, I've got assurance now. 39:55 Let me tell you, if that's what you're waiting for, 39:57 you're still going to be struggling with doubt. 40:00 And you know what the Bible says 40:02 in Revelation? 40:03 The fearful will have no part in the kingdom of God. 40:09 They'll have their part in the lake of fire, 40:12 the fearful. 40:14 That means those that are afraid. 40:17 That's why the Bible tells us, Christ tells us, 40:21 "I have not given you the spirit of fear, 40:24 but of power, of love, and of a sound mind." 40:28 The only thing that holds people 40:31 in bondage to fear 40:33 is because they're trying in their own strength 40:36 to achieve righteousness. 40:39 And they know, I'm not there, 40:41 so they have a lot to be afraid of. 40:44 But let me tell you something. 40:45 And if you want the quotes, send me an email. 40:50 I will send you the articles from Sister White 40:52 and the promises from God's Word. 40:56 If you want assurance, 40:58 let your assurance be found in His righteousness, 41:02 not your own, 41:04 because if you've sinned once, 41:06 you have none, you have none. 41:11 That doesn't give us an excuse for sin. 41:14 The Apostle Paul says, 41:15 "Shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound? 41:19 God forbid! 41:21 How shall we that are dead to sin 41:25 live any longer there in." 41:28 And remember, we talked about that the other day. 41:31 What's the most common verse you know 41:33 on the state of the dead? 41:35 The dead no not anything, right? 41:38 So if that old man has been crucified with Christ, 41:42 why are you still talking to him? 41:46 That's spiritualism, he's dead. 41:49 He has no more anything to do 41:51 with anything that's done under the sun. 41:56 The work of righteousness shall be peace 41:59 and the effect of righteousness 42:01 shall be quietness and assurance, 42:04 that Sabbath, 42:06 that's what the Sabbath is a sign of, 42:09 of resting in perfect peace and assurance, 42:13 because, you know, in whom you have believed. 42:19 "Through Christ was to be fulfilled 42:22 the purpose of which the tabernacle was a symbol, 42:26 that glorious building, 42:29 with its walls of glistening gold, 42:32 reflecting in rainbow hues the curtains 42:36 which were inwrought with cherubim, 42:39 the fragrance of ever burning incense 42:42 pervading all. 42:44 The priest robed in spotless white, 42:48 and in the deep mystery of the inner place, 42:52 above the mercy seat, 42:54 between the figures of the bowed, 42:57 worshipping angels, the glory of the Holiest. 43:02 God designed that the temple at Jerusalem 43:05 should be a continual witness to the high destiny 43:09 open to every soul. 43:11 But the Jews had not understood 43:13 the significance of the building 43:14 they regarded with so much pride. 43:17 They did not yield themselves as holy temples 43:21 for the Divine Spirit. 43:23 The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, 43:27 filled with the tumult of unholy traffic..." 43:30 That's buying and selling 43:32 and I thought, "What does that have to do 43:34 with anything inside of us?" 43:36 Do you know the Bible says 43:37 we have sold ourselves for our iniquities? 43:41 That's the buying and selling that that was a symbol of, 43:45 the devil offers us a deal. 43:47 Look, I've got this sin on special this week, 43:49 it won't cost you that much. 43:52 You won't surely die. 43:54 It's only one piece of cake at 12 o'clock at night. 43:57 God won't judge you for that. 44:00 He sells us that and we buy it. 44:04 We sell our souls for a piece of cake. 44:10 Do you know Adam and Eve sold their souls for less than that? 44:13 It was a piece of fruit. 44:16 One bite. 44:20 "The courts of the temple at Jerusalem 44:22 filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, 44:25 represented all too truly the temple of the heart, 44:30 defiled by the presence of carnal desire 44:34 and unholy thoughts. 44:37 But, 44:38 by the incarnation of the Son of God, 44:42 the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled." 44:46 That purpose was that man should again be a temple 44:50 for their Creator. 44:52 "And through saving grace," 44:55 that means the divine influence, 44:57 "the heart of man becomes again His temple. 45:02 In all, 45:04 God desired His people to read His purpose 45:08 for the human soul." 45:10 When we see the sanctuary, 45:13 this was a picture of what He wanted us to look like. 45:18 That's why Jesus was so angry, He said, 45:21 "Why are you coming into My house 45:23 and shedding all this blood?" 45:25 Blood was poured out for the transgression of sin. 45:29 God is like, 45:31 "I don't want you coming to church 45:32 just begging for mercy every week. 45:34 Why don't you accept My righteousness, 45:37 and then you can come to church, 45:39 and instead of begging for forgiveness and mercy, 45:42 you can spend the entire Sabbath praising Me 45:46 for the victory." 45:48 And do you know Ellen White said that. 45:50 She said, "The only way we can keep the Sabbath holy 45:55 is if by faith 45:58 God has kept us holy 46:00 throughout the week." 46:04 "It was the same purpose long afterward 46:07 set forth by the Apostle Paul, 46:10 when speaking by the Holy Spirit, he said, 46:13 'Know ye not that you are the temple of God, 46:18 and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.' 46:23 And Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and He found in the temple, 46:27 those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, 46:30 and the changers of the money sitting. 46:34 And when He had made a scourge of small cords, 46:37 He drove them all out of this temple." 46:41 This is a picture of Him casting out every evil spirit 46:46 that is trying to sell you a sin. 46:50 "And He said unto them, 'Take these things hence, 46:54 and make not My Father's house a house of merchandise. 46:59 In the cleansing of the temple, 47:02 Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah." 47:06 That word is only used I believe, two or three times 47:09 in all of the Old Testament scriptures, 47:11 and it's all one in Daniel. 47:14 "And He was entering upon His work 47:17 to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin, 47:22 from the earthly desires, 47:24 the selfish lusts, 47:26 and evil habits that corrupt the soul." 47:32 Listen to what this man says, 47:34 Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido. 47:37 He said, 47:38 "Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, 47:42 a body that can be trained in some manner, 47:46 a suitable path to follow. 47:49 You are here to realize your inner divinity 47:53 and to manifest your innate enlightenment." 47:58 Pay attention to that word, enlightenment. 48:02 John Stevens, a seventh dan in aikido says, 48:06 "Martial ways are spiritual disciplines 48:10 to be practiced for the sake of enlightenment. 48:17 Now, let me show you what it says 48:18 in Ephesians Chapter 1. 48:21 The Lord tells us, 48:23 "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, 48:27 the Father of glory 48:29 may give unto you the spirit of wisdom 48:32 and revelation in the knowing of Him." 48:36 Do you remember John 17:3, 48:39 "This is life eternal, that we might know Him." 48:44 Not know about Him only, 48:47 but know Him personally like a husband and wife 48:52 that we might become one with Him. 48:56 "That the eyes of our understanding 49:00 being enlightened, 49:03 that you may know what is the hope, 49:06 the assurance of His calling, 49:09 and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance 49:13 in the saints. 49:15 And what is the exceeding greatness of His power 49:19 to us-ward who believe." 49:21 You want to know what His great power is? 49:24 The Bible says, 49:25 "It's Him calling 49:27 life out of the dead and darkness." 49:30 He calls light out of the darkness. 49:33 When He raised Christ from the dead, 49:37 we were in Christ. 49:40 When He raised Christ from the dead, 49:43 Christ was guilty 49:45 of the sins of the entire human race, 49:49 and God raised Him. 49:52 That's the power of the God we serve. 49:57 "According to the working of His mighty power 50:01 which He wrought in Christ 50:04 when He raised Him from the dead, 50:07 and set Him at His own right hand 50:11 in the heavens." 50:12 Look up Isaiah 66:1 and 2, 50:16 He says, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. 50:21 Where is the house that you're going to build for me?" 50:25 "Far above all principality and powers, 50:28 and might and dominion, 50:30 and every name that is named not only in this world, 50:34 but also in that which is to come." 50:38 Now I want you to hear this. 50:40 "What a scene was that 50:42 when angels, and cherubim, and seraphim rejoiced 50:46 as they hasten through the heavenly courts, 50:49 proclaiming that a ransom had been found 50:52 that God could be just, 50:54 and yet also the justifier of him 50:58 who believes in the ransom that has been provided. 51:03 The law could be magnified..." 51:05 When you magnify something, you make it clearer. 51:09 "And made honorable, 51:11 and yet fallen man could be restored to more 51:16 than his former dignity and glory, 51:19 and exalted as an overcomer of Satanic hosts. 51:24 Let everyone who should believe in Jesus 51:28 be recreated to walk in newness of Life. 51:33 And from the ruins that Satan had wrought through sin, 51:37 we should arise in purity and holiness 51:40 the fallen temple of the Lord. 51:44 Man was to be reconstructed 51:47 to be formed after the image of Jesus Christ, 51:51 the wisdom of God, 51:53 unto whom coming as a Living 51:56 or Life-giving stone 51:59 rejected indeed by men, 52:02 but with God he was chosen and precious. 52:06 We also..." 52:09 And I know the King James says ye, 52:11 but you need to read the scriptures 52:13 like they were written to you. 52:15 Ellen White said, 52:17 "This is written and spoken to us individually." 52:22 We also as living stones 52:25 are built up a spiritual house, 52:28 to be a holy priesthood, 52:31 to offer up spiritual sacrifices, 52:34 acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 52:40 Now, I want to show you something. 52:44 1 Peter 2 or 1 Peter 2:9. 52:48 Listen to what the Apostle says, 52:51 "For we are a chosen generation, 52:56 a royal priesthood." 52:59 That means kings and priests. 53:02 "We are a royal priesthood 53:06 chosen in Him 53:08 before the foundation of the world, 53:11 that we should show forth the praises of Him, 53:15 Who hath called you out of the darkness 53:20 and into His marvelous light." 53:23 What darkness do you think He called us out of? 53:27 There is no place darker than the tomb. 53:33 "Early on the morning of the resurrection, 53:36 before anyone had reached the sepulcher, 53:39 there was a great earthquake. 53:41 The mightiest angel from heaven, 53:44 he who held the position from which Satan fell, 53:47 received his commission from the Father. 53:51 And clothed with the panoply, the armory of heaven, 53:56 he parted the darkness from his track. 53:59 His face was like the lightning 54:01 and his garments as white as snow. 54:04 The Roman guard were keeping their weary watch 54:07 when this angel came to the earth, 54:10 and they were enabled to endure the sight, 54:13 for they had a message to bear 54:15 as witnesses of the resurrection of Christ. 54:19 The light of heaven encircled the tomb, 54:22 and the whole heaven was lightened by His glory. 54:26 The angel approached the grave, 54:28 and rolling away the stone as if it had been a pebble, 54:32 his voice was heard, 54:34 'Thou Son of God, come forth, 54:38 Thy Father calls thee!' 54:41 And Jesus came forth from the grave 54:44 with the tread of a mighty Conqueror. 54:47 There was a burst of triumph, and the mighty angel, 54:51 followed by the armies of heaven, 54:53 bowed in adoration before Him 54:56 as He, the Monarch of heaven, 54:59 proclaimed over the rent tomb of Joseph. 55:02 I am the resurrection, and the life." 55:07 O death, where is thy sting? 55:10 O grave, where is thy victory? 55:14 And we are complete 55:17 in Him, 55:20 who is head of all principality and powers, 55:25 in Whom also you are circumcised 55:30 with the circumcision made without hands, 55:34 in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, 55:37 by the circumcision of Christ. 55:41 We are buried with Him in baptism, 55:45 wherein also ye are," 55:49 present tense, 55:51 "risen with Him through faith 55:56 in the operation of God." 55:59 If you take a 40-year-old man and he's got to be circumcised, 56:03 what would you call that? 56:06 Surgery, an operation. 56:11 Look at what the Lord put in the King James, 56:15 "Through faith in the operation of God, 56:20 who hath, hath, past tense, 56:24 raised him from the dead, 56:26 and you been dead in your sins, 56:29 and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath," 56:33 past tense," 56:35 He quickened together with Him, 56:38 having forgiven you 56:41 all trespasses. 56:45 And you hath He quickened 56:48 who were dead in trespasses and sins, 56:53 and hath raised us up together and made us sit together 56:58 in the heavens in Christ Jesus. 57:02 So that in the ages to come, 57:05 He might show the exceeding riches 57:08 of His grace in His kindness toward us 57:11 through Christ Jesus." 57:15 I want to tell you something. 57:18 And when we begin this last message this evening... 57:25 I want you to go home this week, 57:29 this Sabbath, this weekend 57:32 and read Ephesians Chapter 1 and 2, 57:36 and write it down 57:38 every time it says in Christ, 57:41 in Whom, 57:42 in Him. 57:45 Make a mark of it, 57:47 and pay attention to the tenses of the verbs. 57:52 It happened 2,000 years ago. 57:55 That's why when Jesus cried out on Calvary, 57:58 "It is finished." 58:03 Amen. |
Revised 2019-02-25