Participants: Frank Fournier
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000101
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00:13 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 Get Ready, Get Ready, Get Ready, with Frank Fournier. 00:23 Well we welcome you to the worship center here 00:26 in West Frankfort, Illinois. 00:28 And we're so happy that each one of you could be with us. 00:32 And those of you who are joining us by radio and television, 00:36 we welcome you as well. 00:38 And we're so happy that our speaker tonight 00:42 is Frank Fournier. 00:44 Frank was born and raised in a French Canadian home. 00:48 And he gave his heart to Jesus Christ when he was 25 years old. 00:52 And he's been sharing the Word ever since. 00:57 He and his wife, Janet, are so active in ministry. 01:00 In fact, while he's running a ministry in Colorado, 01:05 she is running a ministry over in Tanzania 01:12 in a place called Eden Valley Foster Care Mission. 01:18 Now Frank and Janet have three children. 01:20 Their son Jason, who is also a missionary, 01:24 and two daughters, Angela and Julia. 01:27 Now Frank has all kinds of experience. 01:30 He's been president of the Woodland Park 01:32 Foundation in Ontario. 01:35 He's been a Bible teacher at Fountain View Academy. 01:38 Director of the Riverside Farm Institute in Zambia, Africa. 01:43 This is a famous mission outpost. 01:46 And then he's been executive vice president for the 01:49 Outpost Centers of America. 01:53 As I mentioned, he's in Colorado now and is the president of 01:57 the Eden Valley Institute. 01:59 And in addition, he is serving as president of ASI. 02:06 And as most of you know, this is a Christian organization 02:11 of business people who are trying to present Christ 02:18 in the market place. 02:20 We've been looking forward to this series. 02:24 Last year when he did the key note address at ASI, 02:28 I mentioned to someone that we needed to get Frank 02:32 to come here and do one of our Anchors. 02:37 And then when Julia Oukina was here, she said, 02:42 "When you get a chance, you need to get Frank Fournier 02:46 to do one of your Anchors." 02:50 And I said, "Well you know, I've thought of that 02:53 and I think that's a great idea, Julia. 02:55 But everything is full." 02:59 And then we had a cancellation. 03:02 Jim Nix had to have surgery and he's postponed. 03:05 On his knee, I think it was. 03:08 And he postponed until the spring when he will be 03:12 coming back with the series on church history. 03:16 And so this gave us an opening. 03:18 And Frank has done everything to change his schedule 03:22 in order to be with us. 03:23 Because when he finishes this series, he will immediately 03:29 leave and fly over seas. 03:31 I'll let him share with you where he's going to be. 03:35 I'd like for us to bow our heads right now and just have 03:38 a moment of prayer. 03:40 Father in heaven, we're just so thankful for the opportunity 03:44 to study Your Word. 03:45 We're so thankful, Lord, that You have given us 03:50 the task of sharing the gospel to the world. 03:54 I thank You for Frank and for his wife, Janet. 03:57 And for their family and their commitment 04:00 to sharing the gospel. 04:02 And I pray, Lord, that You'll be with Frank tonight 04:05 in a very special way. 04:07 Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon him. 04:10 And may we really truly get ready for the second coming 04:16 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 04:19 In His wonderful and powerful and loving name we ask it, amen. 04:26 Well before Frank comes, I'm going to invite John Lomacang, 04:32 one of my favorite people, one of my favorite singers, 04:36 to come and sing, The Refiner's Fire. 04:55 There burns a fire with sacred heat, 05:01 white hot with holy flame; 05:07 and all who dare pass through its blaze 05:13 will not emerge the same. 05:18 Some as bronze, and some as silver, 05:24 some as gold; yet with great skill 05:30 all are hammered by their sufferings 05:36 on the anvil of His will. 05:44 The Refiner's fire 05:49 has now become my soul's desire. 05:56 Purged and cleansed and purified 06:03 that the Lord be glorified. 06:09 He is consuming my soul; 06:15 refining me, making me whole. 06:22 No matter what I may lose, 06:27 I choose the Refiner's fire. 06:43 I'm learning now to trust His touch, 06:50 to crave that fire's embrace. 06:55 For though my past with sin was etched, 07:01 His mercies did erase. 07:06 Each time the purging cleanses deeper 07:12 I'm not sure if I'll survive. 07:18 Yet the strength from growing weaker 07:23 keeps my hungry soul alive. 07:31 The Refiner's fire 07:36 has now become my soul desire. 07:44 Purged and cleansed and purified 07:50 that the Lord be glorified. 07:56 He is consuming my soul; 08:02 refining me, making me whole. 08:10 No matter what I may lose, 08:15 I choose the Refiner's fire. 08:27 Choose the Refiner's fire. 08:52 Good evening, everyone. 08:55 Nice to see your smiling faces. 08:58 I trust we're going to have a tremendous blessing tonight. 09:01 I'm going to invite you to turn with me in your Bibles 09:04 to Revelation chapter 6. 09:06 We're in Revelation chapter 6. 09:09 We're going to start with just a short history here. 09:13 As we all know, on October 22, 1844 09:17 Jesus entered into the Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary 09:20 for the purpose, according to Daniel chapter 8 verse 14, 09:24 for the purpose of cleansing the Sanctuary. 09:27 That's what He was going to do there. 09:29 But at the same time, He intended that His people 09:32 on earth should be purified. 09:34 This was going to be a dual purpose. 09:36 This was going to happen at the same time. 09:38 And you can read about that in Malachi chapter 3. 09:41 In John 15 verse 3, it says, "Ye are clean through the word." 09:49 This is what it says. 09:50 And so God sends His Word in order to cleanse His people. 09:57 Since 1844, He had a very special intention 10:02 in cleansing His people. 10:04 His people were to be cleansed by His Word, of course, 10:07 but very specific words. 10:09 We often talk about the three angels messages. 10:12 And I believe with all my heart that the Lord sent the 10:14 three angels messages to cleanse God's people 10:17 in the last days to have a very special effect. 10:20 These messages, if received, if understood, if internalized, 10:25 would form what we see in the Scriptures 10:27 in Revelation chapter 14; what we call, the 144,000. 10:32 These people, once they're done, once they are formed by God, 10:37 you can see in Revelation chapter 14 verse 1, 10:40 they have the Father's name written in their foreheads. 10:43 They have God's character formed in them. 10:47 It's amazing. 10:48 Now this is what God is looking to do for His people 10:51 in the last days. 10:53 And I wish that as a people, we would look at this more often. 10:57 Because we need to understand where God is going 10:59 if we're ever going to cooperate with Him. 11:01 We need to cooperate with Him. 11:03 Secondly, it says there that we are going to sing a new song. 11:06 It's a new song because this song has never been sung 11:09 by anyone in this world before. 11:12 It's a song of victory such as no man has ever 11:14 experience before. 11:16 And again, we need to have that in our hearts and in our minds. 11:19 This is where God is leading us. 11:21 This is where we want to go to. 11:23 This is where He's been wanting to bring us. 11:26 Thirdly, it says that they are undefiled with women. 11:30 Now we understand that "women," in so far as 11:34 Bible symbol is concerned, represents a church. 11:37 If it's a good woman, then it's a good church. 11:40 And if it's a defiled woman, then obviously 11:42 it's a bad church. 11:43 And these people are not corrupted with the 11:47 false doctrines, the doctrines of false churches. 11:50 Fourthly, it says that they follow the Lamb 11:53 whithersoever He goes. 11:56 Now of course, Jesus isn't here in this day and age. 12:00 But if He was here, would you follow Him? 12:03 Would you go where He goes? 12:04 Would you do as He does? 12:06 This is the kind of people we're looking at. 12:08 And fifth, they have no guile. 12:12 They're childlike. 12:13 They're innocent in heart. 12:15 They're clean, they're pure. 12:17 This is the kind of people they are. 12:19 And in the end, it says they are faultless before 12:23 the throne of God. 12:25 What a beautiful picture of God's people in the last days. 12:30 Once these people are formed by the righteousness of 12:33 Jesus Christ, once they are formed, God fills them 12:37 with His Holy Spirit and latter rain power. 12:39 And then they go on, according to Revelation chapter 18 12:43 verse 1, to enlighten the whole world with the glory 12:47 of God's character. 12:49 Now, I'd like to have that experience. 12:51 Wouldn't you? 12:52 This is our destiny. 12:56 This is the reason that God raised the 12:58 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 13:00 There's no doubt in my mind. 13:02 Yet, it seems to me that as a people, we've never 13:06 bought into this program. 13:08 We've never fully bought into it, obviously, 13:10 because we are still here. 13:12 I'm told that the Lord would have come long ere this. 13:15 But why hasn't He come? 13:17 Except that as a people, we have never really bought into 13:21 what He had in mind. 13:23 Now this reminds me of something like Moses went through 13:28 in the wilderness. 13:29 You remember when Moses was used of heaven to deliver 13:32 God's people from Egyptian slavery. 13:36 Two years after he delivered them, two years after he 13:39 was used of heaven to deliver these people, 13:42 they came to the borders of Canaan and God said 13:45 to these people, "I want you to go in there 13:48 and receive the land. 13:49 Take the land. I'm giving it to you." 13:51 Now you remember, the people said, "Well, can we not 13:54 send some spies in there to see what the land is like?" 13:57 Now friends, they really had no reason to go in there 14:01 and spy the land. 14:03 It was enough to have faith in God. 14:05 And when God says, "Go in and take the land," 14:07 we should have gone in there and taken the land. 14:10 Right? 14:11 But they wanted to go in because they wanted to 14:14 see what they were up against. 14:15 It's amazing to me, but it seems to me they wanted to have 14:18 the last word. 14:19 They wanted to make the decision 14:21 instead of God making the decision. 14:24 And what's also very interesting is that you can find in the 14:27 Bible where God says, "I want you to send 14:30 twelve spies in there." 14:31 So they asked to send twelve spies; God commands them 14:34 to send twelve spies. 14:35 Why would He do that? 14:37 He didn't need to do that. He could have gone in... 14:39 He told them to go and take the land. 14:40 He would have given them the land. 14:42 You know why He told them to send twelve spies in there? 14:45 Because He knew that they did not have faith 14:49 to face what they were going to face on that side. 14:53 So He says, "Go in and send some spies." 14:55 And then when they see the giants, and the high walls, 14:58 and all the rest that they see in there, 15:00 then obviously they're going to lose faith. 15:03 And He wanted them to lose faith on the right side 15:06 of the river, you understand. 15:07 He knew this was going to happen and He didn't want them 15:10 on the other side of the river to lose faith. 15:12 And so He allowed them to send twelve spies. 15:14 Well when the spies came back, of course they had a negative, 15:17 they had an evil report. 15:19 And the whole camp lost faith. 15:21 And with losing faith, obviously, they lost 15:24 the opportunity that was given them. 15:26 Now I have a question for you. 15:28 How long before God would give them another opportunity, 15:32 do you think? 15:34 Thirty-eight years. 15:35 Now you add two years to this thirty-eight, 15:37 that's forty years. 15:39 Now I don't know how you compute a generation, 15:43 but it seems to me that forty years is about a generation. 15:46 Isn't it? 15:47 Apparently, God likes to give one opportunity per generation. 15:52 Now I don't know that this is exactly true all the time. 15:55 But it appears to be that way right there. 15:57 They were there one generation and He waited until 16:00 that generation was past to give them another opportunity. 16:04 And likewise, I wonder if God doesn't do the same for us? 16:08 He moved from the Holy Place of the Sanctuary into the 16:10 Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary in 1844. 16:14 And then it was not until 1888 until He sent two young men, 16:19 Jones and Waggoner, with a very special, a very precious 16:23 message in order to excite the people over this issue of 16:26 righteousness by faith. 16:28 Because He intended at that point to give them, 16:30 our people, to give us another chance at going 16:34 into the kingdom. 16:35 But what did we do with this most precious message? 16:38 What did that generation do with their opportunity? 16:41 Well friends, we squandered it. 16:43 We negated the opportunity by our unbelief. 16:48 That's what happened. 16:50 Now what I'm going to say, we've had opportunities 16:53 at different times since that time. 16:55 And I can't just easily go from 40 years to 40 years to 40 years 17:00 because it doesn't add up. 17:02 But I know a little bit down the line the Lord raised up a man 17:05 by the name of A.G. Daniells and W.W. Prescott. 17:10 And they brought back this issue of righteousness by faith 17:13 to the church. 17:14 But again, we did not take hold of this thing. 17:17 In 1950, the Lord sent two young men from Africa 17:20 who addressed the church and challenged the church 17:23 with the idea of righteousness by faith. 17:25 And again, it was not taken up. 17:27 When I came into the church in the early 1970's 17:30 and leading to the 1980's, there was a huge emphasis 17:35 on righteousness by faith in those days. 17:37 Men like Morris Venden and Bill Lehman and Wieland and Short 17:41 and Margaret Davis, and all kinds of people, 17:45 bringing a lot of emphasis on righteousness by faith. 17:48 And some confusing too, I suppose. 17:50 Nevertheless, the Lord was trying to reach His people 17:53 with this idea. 17:55 And somehow we either do not understand, 17:57 we did not receive it, we did not internalize it. 18:01 I don't know what it is. 18:02 Whatever it might be, we are still here. 18:05 And this is the year, what? 18:08 2013. 18:10 Are we going to say with other unbelievers, 18:13 "The walls are too high." 18:15 "Our sins are like giants in our lives." 18:18 "God's grace is insufficient." 18:20 "The bar is too high." 18:22 No, no. 18:24 Isn't it about time that, as a people, we looked at 18:27 what God is trying to do for us and we had faith in the 18:31 Word of God to go ahead with His program 18:33 and not with our program? 18:35 What is it with us? 18:37 Ah friends, we need to go forward. 18:41 Now obviously, something is wrong. 18:43 Something is wrong. 18:44 Now as you know, we're going to do a little series 18:46 here this week. 18:47 And the series is on righteousness by faith 18:51 in relation to the three angels messages. 18:53 It's an amazing title and it's an amazing theme. 18:57 I don't know that this preacher can do it any justice. 19:00 I'm going to do the best I can with what I've got, for sure. 19:04 Ah, but it's a huge issue. 19:06 Because if God's people ever got a glimpse of this thing, 19:09 things are going to begin to change. 19:10 And you're going to have to pray that the Holy Spirit 19:14 takes hold of this guy. 19:16 Now in order to start, what I would like to do 19:19 is start by identifying the problem that we're facing. 19:23 The problem that we've had all along. 19:25 I've had you turn to Revelation chapter 6. 19:27 This is where we are, Revelation chapter 6. 19:30 You might wonder what it is that these verses have anything 19:34 to do with anything. 19:35 But I'll try to make the link in a minute. 19:38 We're in Revelation chapter 6. 19:40 We're trying to identify the problem that we have 19:43 before we can go on to identify the solution. 19:46 We're going to start with verse 9. 19:48 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the 19:51 altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, 19:55 and for the testimony which they held. 19:57 And they cried with a loud voice saying, 'How long, O Lord, 20:01 holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood 20:04 on them that dwell on the earth?' 20:06 And white robes were given unto every one of them. 20:09 And it was said unto them that they should rest yet 20:12 a little season, until their fellow servants also 20:15 and their brethren that should be killed as they were 20:18 should be fulfilled." 20:20 And we look at these verses and we scratch our heads, 20:22 and we say, "Well, what is that got to do with anything?" 20:25 Well friends, I read all that, not so much because of 20:28 what it says in these verses, but because of what the 20:32 modern day prophet has to say as a commentary 20:34 to these verses. 20:35 Do you know that she quotes these verses, 20:37 and then she jumps all the way to Revelation chapter 18 20:42 as if this was a natural sequence? 20:45 Now I've seen that and I'm going to read that in a second. 20:49 But I've always puzzled over this thing. 20:51 Why should it be that way? 20:54 So in seven Bible Commentary, page 968, I read this... 20:59 If I could see it. 21:02 "When the fifth seal was opened," this is the one 21:04 we've just read, "John the Revelator in vision 21:07 saw beneath the altar the company that were slain 21:10 for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." 21:13 Now watch. 21:14 "After this came the scene described in the 21:18 eighteenth of Revelation, when those who are faithful and true 21:21 are called out from Babylon." 21:24 Wow. 21:25 Now why does she do that? 21:27 I mean, she reads the fifth seal and then she says 21:32 after this comes Revelation chapter 18 verse 1. 21:36 And you have to scratch your head and wonder 21:39 why she went there. 21:41 I mean, is there a reason for it? 21:43 Well obviously, there must be a reason for it. 21:45 And I have to speculate here because she doesn't 21:48 tell us what the reason is. 21:50 But can it be even... 21:51 Well, let me go somewhere else first. 21:53 By the way, if this is so; fifth seal, Revelation 18, 21:58 what do you suppose should come next? 22:01 Well the second coming, right? 22:02 It wouldn't be very far behind. 22:04 What is the next seal, do you think? 22:06 If you look at the sixth seal, and we're not going to read 22:08 the whole thing, but you can start with verse 15. 22:11 "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, 22:13 and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, 22:16 and every bondman, and every free man, 22:19 hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 22:22 and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us, 22:25 and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, 22:28 and from the wrath of the Lamb. 22:30 For the great day of his wrath is come; 22:32 and who shall be able to stand?'" 22:34 Now what is this talking about? 22:37 It's talking about the second coming of Jesus. 22:39 So we have the fifth seal, we have Revelation 18, 22:42 and then the sixth seal is the second coming of Jesus. 22:46 Is it possible... 22:47 And I'm not saying that it is here. 22:49 I am not a prophet, nor am I a theologian. 22:51 All that I can do is speculate my mind. 22:53 Is it possible that God's people were not ready at this time? 22:57 That there was a time when Jesus intended to come 23:00 and God's people were not ready? 23:02 And so He was held up, He couldn't come? 23:06 Well, I know that this is true. 23:07 Now whether it relates to this or not, I can prove 23:10 that God's people were not ready when God wanted to come, 23:13 when Jesus wanted to come. 23:15 And we don't have to go very far if you just go to the next verse 23:18 in Revelation chapter 7. 23:20 And I want to ask you a question before we look at 23:23 Revelation chapter 7. 23:25 God sends four angels in Revelation chapter 7. 23:29 What did He send them to do? 23:31 To hold back the winds of strife. 23:33 I'm sorry, that's not so. 23:35 Every time I ask that question, that's what everyone says. 23:38 But that's what they end up doing. 23:40 That's not what God sent them to do. 23:42 And you can see that in verses 1 to 3. 23:45 "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the 23:48 four corners of the earth holding the four winds 23:51 of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, 23:54 nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 23:56 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, 23:58 having the seal of the living God. 24:00 And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, 24:03 to whom it was given to," watch, "hurt the earth and the sea, 24:08 saying, 'Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, 24:11 till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.'" 24:16 What did He send them to do? 24:18 He sent them to destroy the earth. 24:20 Jesus was coming and He was going to destroy everything. 24:24 This is what this is all about. 24:26 You can see a parallel passage to this in Ezekiel chapter 9. 24:30 In Ezekiel chapter 9, the Lord says to six men with 24:33 destroying weapons in their hands, "Go to Jerusalem." 24:36 And to one of them He says... 24:38 The one dressed in linen, which represents Jesus. 24:41 He has a writers ink horn in his hand. 24:43 And He says, "Put a mark on the foreheads of those that 24:47 sigh and cry for the abominations that are done 24:49 in Jerusalem, in the world, in their own individual lives." 24:53 And after this mark is put in their foreheads... 24:55 By the way, that's the seal of God. 24:57 After the seal of God has been placed in the foreheads 25:00 of those who sigh and cry, He sends the men with the 25:03 destroying weapons to start at the church. 25:06 Start with the elders at the church and destroy everything. 25:10 That's the end of the world. 25:11 This is the second coming of Jesus. 25:13 This is the same thing that we see here. 25:16 Yeah. 25:17 Jesus wanted to come at some time. 25:20 But God's people were not sealed in their foreheads 25:23 with the seal of the living God. 25:25 And so, what are the four angels holding? 25:30 They're holding the winds. 25:32 Winds of strife. 25:34 Ah but friends, that's not all that's held up. 25:36 God cannot send His Holy Spirit until God's people are sealed 25:40 in their foreheads with the seal of the living God. 25:43 The last warning cannot be given. 25:45 The time of trouble can't come. 25:47 The seven last plagues can't fall. 25:48 The battle of Armageddon can't be fought. 25:51 And the second coming is delayed. 25:53 Everything is on hold. 25:55 God is waiting for a people to get serious 25:59 about their Christian experience. 26:01 He's waiting for the three angels messages 26:03 to take affect in the hearts of God's people. 26:07 And this is where we are right now. 26:10 The year is 2013, almost turning over to 2014. 26:16 Don't you suppose that it's about time? 26:19 Oh yeah. 26:21 Do you know that there's something wrong with us? 26:23 Yeah. 26:24 If we had to ask ourselves, "Is there anywhere in the Bible 26:29 that describes what's wrong with God's last day people," 26:32 where would you go? 26:35 Well you know already, right? 26:37 The Laodicean church. 26:39 Turn with me to Revelation chapter 3. 26:41 Revelation chapter 3. 26:44 We're going to cut to the chase. 26:46 We're going to go straight to verse 17 26:48 in Revelation chapter 3. 26:51 "Because you say, 'I am rich,'" 26:55 spiritually rich, "and increased with goods, 26:58 and have need of nothing;' and knowest not that thou art 27:00 wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." 27:05 Now I want you to notice something in this verse. 27:08 The word "Laodicea" means, "God's people judged," 27:11 or, "people judged." 27:13 Did you notice that in the verse, there are two judges? 27:17 We are judging ourselves. 27:19 And we say we're in good shape. 27:21 Rich and increased with good, and in need of nothing. 27:24 "We are God's true people. 27:25 We have the truth." 27:27 And we could look at all the other denominations, 27:29 or many of the other denominations, and say, 27:32 "These people don't know what they're talking about. 27:34 They don't know the Bible as we do. 27:36 We are in good shape." 27:38 And Jesus turns around and says, "No. 27:41 You are spiritually poor. 27:43 You are spiritually blind. 27:45 You are spiritually naked. 27:46 You are miserable and wretched." 27:49 And we're like, "No." 27:52 And do you know what the bottom line is? 27:55 "Thou knowest not." 27:58 Now there couldn't be anything worse. 28:01 I mean, how big a deception is this? 28:05 How would you like to be naked and not know it? 28:08 Well that wouldn't be very much fun. 28:10 Yeah. 28:11 And if you were blind and you didn't know it. 28:14 You'd be walking into all kinds of stuff. 28:16 How can it even be possible? 28:18 Yes, but that's what Jesus says. 28:20 That's the situation we're in and we don't know it. 28:23 And friends, I would like to encourage us this evening 28:26 to believe it. 28:27 Believe it. 28:28 This is the True Witness that's speaking. 28:30 And we have to judge against our own word and His word. 28:34 Who are you going to believe? 28:37 Yourself or Jesus? 28:39 I would like to encourage us to believe Jesus. 28:41 Because He is the True Witness and we are not. 28:46 Now I'm going to illustrate what I'm trying to teach right now 28:49 with three illustrations. 28:51 If we have enough time, we'll get through all three of them. 28:54 Turn with me to Matthew chapter 24. 28:58 We're in Matthew chapter 24. 28:59 As you know, this is that great chapter where Jesus 29:04 gives us all the signs of His coming. 29:07 And He does an amazing job of it. 29:09 We get to verse 36. 29:10 We're nearly to the end of that chapter. 29:13 Let's look at verse 36. 29:14 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man. 29:18 No, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." 29:22 And then Jesus, because He's coming to the end of 29:24 the chapter, He wants to illustrate 29:27 what He's been saying, all that He's been teaching. 29:29 So in verse 37, we couldn't get a better illustration than this. 29:35 "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming 29:39 of the Son of man be. 29:41 For as in the days that were before the flood they were 29:46 eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, 29:49 until the day that Noah entered into the ark." 29:52 Now tell me, is there anything wrong with eating and drinking, 29:55 and marrying and giving in marriage? 29:57 No, there's not anything wrong with that. 30:00 Until eating and drinking and marrying becomes 30:03 more important than eternal realities. 30:06 And this is exactly what Jesus is trying to teach here. 30:10 As a people, we are interested in what this world has to give. 30:15 If you'll keep your finger here and go to Matthew chapter 6. 30:20 Matthew chapter 6, we're going to go to verse 31. 30:22 As you know, this is the sermon on the mount. 30:25 The greatest sermon that Jesus has ever preached. 30:28 We're going to look starting with verse 31. 30:30 I just really am taking a little side trip here. 30:33 But how important it is. 30:35 Especially in the light that it's actually possible 30:38 to put too much importance on the very things that are 30:41 needed in this world, it seems like. 30:43 And more importance there than on eternal realities. 30:46 Look at verse 31. 30:48 Jesus speaking says, "Therefore take no thought, 30:53 don't worry yourselves saying, 'What shall we eat?' 30:56 or 'What shall we drink?' 30:57 or 'Wherewithal shall we be clothed?'" 31:00 Jesus wants us to waste no brain energy 31:04 on clothing, and eating, and drinking, and making money, 31:09 and having houses, and all of these things. 31:13 Verse 32, "For after all these things do the Gentiles seek." 31:17 Who are the Gentiles? 31:20 I think the word, "Gentiles," means ungodly, or 31:23 people without God. 31:24 And so, if people have no God, then they only have 31:28 one thing to think about. 31:29 And it's the things that belong to this earth. 31:31 Right? To this world. 31:32 They have to worry about what they're going to eat and drink. 31:35 They have to worry about what they're going to wear. 31:37 If they're going to have a house. 31:38 If their marriages will survive. 31:40 And if they're going to have a car, 31:41 if they're going to make enough money. 31:43 And if their children will survive. 31:44 And, oh, there's no end to the thing you can 31:46 worry about in this world. 31:47 But Jesus says, "Don't waste any time worry about these things." 31:52 Why? 31:53 Well first of all, because that's what people 31:55 without God worry about. 31:56 And we are not without God. 31:59 And the second thing, in the rest of the verse, 32:02 "For your heavenly Father knows that ye have need 32:05 of these things." 32:06 What's implied here? 32:08 Do you know what's implied? 32:10 That God will supply all these things. 32:13 Well if God is going to supply them, you don't have to 32:16 worry about it. 32:18 Yeah. Is it? 32:20 Yeah. It's amazing. 32:22 God is relieving us of a lot of responsibility here. 32:25 God is relieving us of a lot of worry here. 32:28 We don't have to worry about the things of this world. 32:31 "I'll supply all of that if you will focus in 32:35 on what I care about." 32:37 Verse 33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, 32:41 and his righteousness; and all these things 32:44 will be added unto you." 32:45 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God to enlarge it, 32:48 and the righteousness of God so that you can have 32:51 the character of Jesus Christ, and I will give you everything. 32:54 You will have nothing lacking." 32:56 How easy is that? 32:57 Well I'm not saying it's really easy to be just like Jesus, 33:00 because I have a long way to go. 33:02 But still in all, if that is my focus, Jesus has promised 33:06 to supply all the rest. 33:08 Isn't that a fantastic promise? 33:10 And doesn't it relieve us of a lot of worry over nothing? 33:15 Let's go back to Matthew chapter 24. 33:18 The people in the days of Noah were just like that. 33:21 They were focused on this world and the things of this world. 33:25 And God wanted to take care of them and have them 33:29 focus on eternal realities. 33:31 Well, we're looking at verse 39 now. 33:34 Notice the first three words. 33:36 "And knew not..." 33:38 Hmm. 33:39 "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; 33:44 so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." 33:48 And so, what will be wrong with God's people in the last days? 33:52 The same thing that was wrong with the people 33:54 in the days of Noah. 33:56 They knew not. 33:58 "Thou knowest not." 34:00 Now what is it that the people in the days of Noah didn't know? 34:03 That there would be a flood? 34:05 Oh no, they knew that there would be a flood. 34:08 Noah, for 120 years, preached that there was coming a flood. 34:12 And he backed up all his preaching by building 34:16 a huge boat on top of a dry hill in a land that had 34:20 never seen rain. 34:22 He believe it, there was no doubt about it. 34:24 His sermon was backed up with action. 34:27 That's what it was. 34:29 The people knew that there was going to be a flood. 34:31 At least they had heard that there would be a flood. 34:33 The thing that they didn't know was God. 34:38 They didn't know Him. 34:40 They had not walked with Him. 34:41 They had not been heart to heart, arm and arm, 34:43 shoulder to shoulder with God. 34:47 He'd never had the opportunity to rescue them when they 34:49 were in trouble because they never turned to Him. 34:51 They did not know Him. 34:53 Now what's amazing, you know if you think of faith, 34:56 God said, "If anyone gets into that ark, I'll save them." 34:59 Now how much faith would it take to walk up a gangplank 35:03 and go into an ark? 35:04 It wouldn't take very much faith. 35:06 Ah, but that isn't the issue. And we all realize it. 35:08 But to turn your back on your friends, and to turn you back 35:12 on your family, and to embrace a crazy man's wild prediction; 35:16 that's another matter all together. 35:18 And friends, you and I are going to face the same thing. 35:22 We are going to be asked to turn our backs on family, 35:24 on friends, on wealth, on property, on position, 35:27 on our ambitions. 35:28 And what for? 35:30 For a message that will bring all hell down upon our heads. 35:33 Yes. 35:35 If you study Revelation chapter 13, 35:37 you're going to see that God's last day people 35:40 are going to come to the place where they will not be able to 35:43 buy or sell. 35:45 Every earthly support will be cut off, according to 35:47 Desire of Ages, 161. 35:50 And then there's going to come a death decree. 35:52 Do you know how many things we're dependent on today? 35:56 That we find support in today? 35:58 Why? 35:59 Everything. There's no end to it. 36:01 You need gas stations, you need a car. 36:03 You need, you know, we find support in our own families. 36:07 We find support in our friends, we find support in Wal-Mart. 36:10 We find support... 36:11 I mean, everything that's going on in this world 36:14 we gain support from. 36:17 Every earthly support will be cut off. 36:20 Now listen. 36:21 If you find support nowhere, you're left alone to stand, 36:25 you and God alone in a world that is trying to kill you, 36:32 are you going to survive this thing? 36:34 Are you going to have enough faith to believe that 36:36 God will carry you through? 36:37 How are you going to get that kind of faith? 36:40 Can you see? 36:42 We've got to get it now. 36:45 We've got to be able to believe that whatever happens 36:47 is the best thing that happens. 36:48 Because there's a God in heaven who is the 36:53 orderer of all our experiences. 36:56 And Ministry of Healing, 417, says the only order is 36:59 that which His providence sees best. 37:01 If we could see the end from the beginning, 37:03 we would choose no other way to be led. 37:04 That's what we're told. 37:06 If only we could see, but we can't see. 37:07 But we can live by faith. 37:09 We can trust Him who can see. 37:11 And the thing that's happening to you is the best thing that 37:14 can be happening to you. 37:15 Because God is behind the curtain. 37:18 And He's organizing everything. 37:19 He's preparing us for a time that is coming. 37:22 And it's going to be rough time. 37:23 As far as I can tell, it's going to be a rough time. 37:27 It's a very practical thing, this thing. 37:31 You know, somebody mentioned that I... 37:33 No, maybe not. 37:34 Let me mention it now, in any case. 37:37 I worked for nine and a half years in the mines. 37:41 Nickel and copper mines in Sudbury, Ontario in Canada. 37:47 Do you know that I was making $100 a day 37:49 working in the mines 40 years ago? 37:52 Now that might not seem like a lot today. 37:53 I don't know because I haven't made that kind of money since. 37:57 Yeah. 37:58 I built a house when I was 20 years old. 38:00 I married my wife when I was 20. 38:02 And I was able to bring her into a house that was already built. 38:05 20 years old, I had a new car in the driveway. 38:07 I had the toys of the age. 38:09 Hunting and fishing equipment. 38:10 That's what it was, you know. 38:12 And when I turned my sights to the Word of God 38:16 and to God Himself, He tapped me on the shoulder 38:19 and He said, "I want you to come and sell everything you have. 38:22 Come and follow Me." 38:23 And I did it. 38:24 And I joined a little work; Outpost Centers International. 38:28 And in this little work, do you know what I was getting 38:30 for a stipend for about seven years? 38:33 Twenty dollars a month. 38:35 Now, is there a difference between $100 a day and 38:38 $20 a month? 38:40 Ah, yes. 38:41 There's a difference. 38:42 But do you know that I have never lacked anything? 38:45 I have been in this work for 38 years. 38:49 And I still stand; I'm not very fat, but I'm still standing. 38:53 Yeah. 38:55 The Lord is good. 38:57 Now, I have tasted and I have experienced it. 39:00 And the Lord has had to rescue me out of all kinds of troubles. 39:05 And I know that the Lord is good. 39:07 Well what happens to an individual whose whole 39:10 Christian experience is intellectual? 39:14 What happens to an individual who has never 39:16 tried God's promises? 39:18 Who has never had to be rescued by Jesus? 39:20 Who has never known His faithfulness? 39:23 They won't be able to trust Him. 39:25 We can't wait until that day. 39:27 We've got to walk with Jesus now. 39:31 Because right now we're in trouble. 39:34 "Thou knowest not." 39:37 Illustration number two. 39:38 Turn with me to Luke chapter 19. 39:41 Luke chapter 19. 39:44 And we're going to go to verse 41. 39:46 This is the Sunday before Jesus' crucifixion. 39:50 As a matter of fact, it's called the triumphal entry. 39:53 He's sitting on a donkey. 39:54 And He's climbing a little hill. 39:56 People are throwing palm branches and 39:59 their jackets on the ground. 40:01 They're going to proclaim Him king. 40:02 And as He crests the hill looking over Jerusalem, 40:06 He spies Jerusalem. 40:08 And all of a sudden, He's convulsed with sorrow. 40:12 He's weeping such as no man as ever wept. 40:15 And the people are scratching their heads wondering, 40:17 "What in the world? 40:18 He's going to be crowned king and He's crying this way. 40:21 What's wrong?" 40:24 Jesus is getting a glimpse of Jerusalem 40:28 and He sees what's coming. 40:30 And He's broken hearted by this thing. 40:33 Verse 41, "And when he was come near, he beheld the city 40:38 and wept over it, saying, 'If thou hadst known, 40:41 even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which 40:45 belong unto thy peace. 40:47 But now they are hid from thine eyes.'" 40:49 Could they have known? 40:51 Oh yeah. Did they know? 40:53 Apparently not. 40:55 "For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies 40:58 shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, 41:01 and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even 41:04 with the ground, and thy children within thee. 41:07 And they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another..." 41:10 Why? 41:11 "...because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." 41:18 What is it they didn't know? 41:20 That Jerusalem would be destroyed? 41:22 Well friends, they didn't know Jerusalem would be destroyed. 41:25 They didn't. 41:26 Ah, He was telling them. 41:27 And I suppose He told them more than once. 41:29 But who was He? 41:32 If a stranger came to town today wearing a batter board 41:35 and it said on there that, "Your city is going to be destroyed. 41:38 Escape for your life." would you run? 41:41 Well probably not, especially if he's a stranger 41:43 and you think he has a strange message, 41:46 and you don't believe it. 41:47 And this is what they were facing. 41:48 Oh, they knew Jesus. 41:50 There is no doubt that they knew who He was. 41:51 They knew His mother, they knew His father, 41:53 they knew His claims. 41:54 But the problem with that, of course, is He made claims 41:57 for being the Messiah. 42:00 But He did not meet their expectations as they thought 42:03 the Messiah would meet them. 42:05 And because He did not meet their expectations, 42:08 they could not believe what He said because, 42:11 obviously if He's deceiving us here, then whatever He says 42:14 might be a deception also. 42:16 And so they could not credit the words that they were hearing. 42:20 "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." 42:24 But friends, this is the point. 42:27 They were religious people. 42:28 They were God's chosen people. 42:30 They were Bible students. 42:32 They had been to rabbinical schools. 42:34 They had been to the schools of the prophets. 42:37 They were educated in the Word of God. 42:40 But they misinterpreted the prophecies. 42:43 They built up false expectations. 42:45 And because He did not agree with their expectations, 42:48 they rejected Him. 42:50 Friends, they did not know Him. 42:54 They didn't know who He was. 42:56 Oh He told them, but they could not accept that. 42:59 And therefore, you know what happened. 43:03 Now, do you think this could happen to us? 43:05 Do you think? 43:06 Friends, it's not that it can happen to us. 43:09 It's the very thing that will happen to us. 43:11 There's no choice in this matter. 43:13 God has always operated that way. 43:15 He comes to His own, and He comes always in the way 43:19 as to surprise them. 43:21 Why does He do that? 43:22 That's what happened in the days of Jesus. 43:25 Why didn't He come giving them what they expected? 43:28 If He had been willing to overthrow the Romans 43:32 and come there as a king, they all would have received Him. 43:37 But He didn't, did He? 43:39 Yeah. 43:40 In 1844, how many people were disappointed 43:43 because they believed that Jesus was going to come 43:45 October 22, 1844? 43:48 How many people lost their faith because their expectations 43:51 were not met? 43:52 Why did He do that? 43:54 He could have told them. 43:55 He could have revealed it before what was really going on. 43:59 But He didn't, did he? 44:02 In 1888, He sends two young men with a very special message 44:05 on righteousness by faith. 44:07 And the people were saying, "Well, how can He bypass 44:10 our leaders and go to two young upstarts? 44:15 They're overthrowing everything. 44:17 That can't possible come from God." 44:18 Well let me ask you, if God had wanted to, 44:21 don't you suppose He could have sent the messages 44:23 through G.I. Butler and Uriah Smith? 44:26 Don't you suppose? 44:27 Yes, He could have done that. 44:29 And if He had done that, the people would have received it, 44:31 probably. 44:33 Well why didn't He do that? 44:34 Wasn't the point for them to get the message? 44:36 No, that wasn't the point at all. 44:39 The point was to separate the sheep from the goats. 44:42 The point was to determine who it was that really had a 44:45 sensitivity to spiritual realities. 44:49 The point is the same in the end of days. 44:52 God is going to send us a surprise that's going to 44:54 have our heads spinning. 44:56 And only those who hear His still small voice, 44:59 only those who feel the wafting of an angel wing 45:05 as it flies by are going to be able to detect where it is 45:08 that God is going. 45:10 How spiritual are you? 45:13 How much in tune are you with Jesus? 45:15 Do you walk with Him? 45:16 Do you know when He's going contrary to expectations? 45:20 This is how sensitive we need to become. 45:22 This is who we need to become. 45:24 We're in illustration number three now. 45:27 Turn with me to Luke chapter 22. 45:31 We're in Luke chapter 22, we're looking at verse 31. 45:35 "And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath 45:40 desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat.'" 45:44 "Simon, Simon." 45:47 God wants to send a shaking your way. 45:52 Satan is the instrument. 45:54 And you're going to be shaken. 45:56 Was Peter shaken? 45:57 Oh yes, he was shaken. 45:59 Has God promised us a shaking as a church? 46:03 What do we know is going to be the outcome 46:06 of this church being shaken? 46:08 Do you remember? 46:11 The great majority will be shaken out. 46:14 Whoa. 46:15 That's not pleasant, is it? 46:17 That's not a pleasant thought. 46:18 I mean, if this hall was full packed and the great majority 46:23 would be shaken out, what would be left? 46:26 In the days of Noah, I don't know how many millions of 46:29 people there were, but only eight entered into the ark. 46:32 Two million people leave Egypt and how many actually 46:35 make it into the land of Canaan from that group? 46:38 Only two. 46:40 Jesus comes to His own and His own receive Him not. 46:43 A hand full of people know who He is because 46:46 they're spiritually sensitive. 46:49 Yeah. 46:50 Fifty thousand people... 46:51 Somebody said five hundred thousand. 46:52 I don't know how many there were in 1844 46:55 expecting Jesus to come. 46:56 I don't know, but a hand full of them was left 46:59 to go in the direction that He wanted us to go. 47:02 What's it going to be like in the last days? 47:05 Will there be a shaking? There will be a shaking. 47:07 How many are going to be left? 47:08 I can't tell you, but I know that the great majority 47:11 will be shaken out. 47:14 What's interesting is that some will be shaken in. 47:19 And some will be shaken out. 47:21 Why? How does that happen? 47:25 In the story of Jesus, Peter was shaken in. 47:29 Judas was shaken out. 47:33 Why? 47:34 Well, I've had to think about this thing. 47:36 And I, you know... 47:39 You have to think, I guess. 47:40 And you have to form an opinion. 47:42 There's no doubt. 47:43 Anyway, just look at Peter. 47:46 Jesus had told Him that before the cock crowed, 47:49 "Thou shalt deny Me thrice." 47:51 Right? 47:52 And when he did deny Him thrice, the cock crew. 47:55 And what happened to Peter? 47:57 Do you know? 47:59 He looked at Jesus and Jesus looked at him. 48:03 And there was a tear running down Jesus' cheek. 48:06 What did it do to Peter? 48:09 Oh, it broke his heart. 48:11 But he read something in that tear. 48:14 He read forgiveness. 48:16 He went out and wept bitterly. 48:18 And he went out and repented bitterly also. 48:21 Because he knew that Jesus loved him. 48:24 And he had broken Jesus' heart. 48:27 And it drew him to Jesus. 48:29 Ah, but Judas has the same experience. 48:32 Judas was the one that betrayed Him. 48:33 Do you know that Judas came back? 48:35 And he came back to the high priest. 48:38 Jesus was standing beside the high priest a prisoner. 48:41 Probably His hands were tied behind His back. 48:43 And Judas comes back and he has a hand full of coins, 48:46 twenty silver coins, and he throws them at the feet 48:50 of the high priest, and he says, "I have betrayed 48:53 innocent blood." 48:54 And the high priest said, "So. Who cares? 48:58 Do with it what you want." You know. 49:01 Do you think... 49:02 And I know it's not written anywhere. 49:04 Do you think there's even a chance that Judas 49:08 didn't look at Jesus? 49:10 That Jesus didn't look at Judas? 49:11 Do you think there's a chance that their eyes didn't meet? 49:15 Now I don't know that there was a tear running down 49:17 Jesus' cheek, but I wouldn't be surprised. 49:19 I know that He loved Judas as much as He loved anyone else. 49:23 And so, Judas looks at Jesus and Jesus looks at Judas. 49:28 And there's a tear. 49:29 And what's happening in Judas' heart? 49:34 He's saying to himself, "If someone had done that 49:37 to me, I'd hang him." 49:40 So he went out and hung himself. 49:42 Because he did not see forgiveness in Jesus. 49:47 All the time that he was with Jesus, approximately 49:50 three to three and a half years, all the time that he was 49:53 with Jesus, he thought himself superior to Jesus. 49:56 He always wanted to tell Jesus how this thing, 49:59 how this little program should be run so as to have success. 50:03 He was not going to receive instruction from Jesus. 50:06 So he had no confidence in Jesus. 50:09 He had never tried Him, in spite of the fact that 50:12 they had been together all this time. 50:15 So he had no basis for having any faith. 50:20 Isn't that amazing. 50:21 Well, what about us? 50:24 We've got to have a basis for faith also. 50:26 Have you tried Jesus in the fullest sense of the word? 50:31 Have you taken a risk with Him? 50:35 Verse 32 and 33. 50:38 Jesus is still speaking to Peter. 50:40 "'But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. 50:44 And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.' 50:49 And he said unto him, 'Lord, I am ready to go with you, 50:52 both into prison and to death.'" 50:54 Now something's wrong with Peter here, right? 50:57 Yeah. 50:58 Do you know what's wrong with Peter? 50:59 Well first of all, he's not converted. 51:02 Now friends, you have to understand what 51:04 this is saying here. 51:05 He was converted enough to be a disciple of Jesus. 51:08 And you and I are that converted. 51:09 He was converted enough to keep the Sabbath. 51:13 You and I are that converted. 51:15 He was converted on many things. 51:17 And you and I are that converted. 51:18 But Jesus could come to him and say, 51:21 "You are not fully converted. 51:22 You are not converted enough to meet the trial 51:25 that you're facing." 51:26 Are we converted enough to meet the trial that we're facing? 51:29 That's what was wrong with Peter. 51:31 And the second thing that was wrong with Peter 51:33 was that he is unbelieving. 51:35 He's looking... 51:36 As a matter of fact, if you went to Matthew chapter 16, 51:39 and you don't have to go to Matthew chapter 16, 51:41 but if you went to Matthew chapter 16 51:43 Jesus asked a question there. 51:45 "Who do men say that I am?" 51:47 And they gave Jesus a list of men they thought 51:50 that perhaps He was. 51:52 Then He said, "Who do you say that I am?" 51:55 And Peter said... 51:56 It's Peter that's speaking. 51:57 "Thou art the Son of the living God. 52:00 I know who You are." 52:01 And it was so dead on that Jesus could commend 52:05 Peter by saying, "Hey, no man has told you this. 52:10 The Father in heaven has revealed it to you. 52:12 You know who I am." 52:14 Well, did he? 52:16 We come down the pike here, we come down later, 52:19 and now Jesus tells him, "You're going to be shaken. 52:22 You're going to have a... I'm praying for you. 52:24 Because this is going to be rough." 52:25 And Peter says, "Well You don't know what You're talking about. 52:28 Why, I'll go to prison and I'll go to death with You. 52:32 You don't know." 52:33 Well can you face God, can you look Him in the eye and say, 52:36 "You don't know what You're saying." 52:40 But isn't that... 52:41 Yeah well, we're going to see that in a minute. 52:44 The third thing that Peter didn't know was himself. 52:50 He didn't know himself. 52:51 And that's obvious, isn't it? 52:52 So what's wrong with Christianity today? 52:57 Unbelieving. 52:59 The True Witness comes to us and says, "You think 53:02 you're rich and increased with goods. 53:04 You're not, you're not. 53:06 You are spiritually poor, you're spiritually blind, 53:09 you're spiritually naked. 53:11 Believe it. 53:12 Because if you could believe it, then you would know 53:14 that you have need of My help. 53:17 You're not all that there is." 53:20 The second thing is that they don't, we don't, know ourselves. 53:25 We're facing something and we don't know how 53:28 we're going to come through this thing. 53:30 And we will not come through this thing 53:32 any better than Peter. 53:33 And hopefully we'll come through this thing better than Judas. 53:37 Ah friends, we need God's help. 53:39 Don't you think? 53:41 The third thing that we don't know 53:43 is that we're not converted. 53:45 If you'll turn with me to Revelation chapter 3. 53:49 Now some of you are going to say, "Now wait a minute. 53:50 That's going too far." 53:52 "No, no." 53:53 Turn with me to Revelation chapter 3. 53:55 We're in the Laodicean message here. 53:59 We're going to look at verse 20. 54:02 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 54:04 Who's speaking here? 54:06 Jesus is. 54:07 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 54:09 If any man will hear my voice," My word, 54:13 "and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, 54:16 and he with me." 54:18 Now where is Jesus, inside or out? 54:22 Oh, He's outside? 54:23 "Oh no, no. Jesus is in my heart." 54:26 Have you ever heard people say, "Jesus is in my heart." 54:29 Is He really? 54:30 How is it then... 54:32 Now I'm not here to say that Jesus is not 54:34 in your heart individually. 54:36 But let me tell you something. 54:37 He's speaking to us as a church. 54:40 And apparently, the great majority have Jesus 54:45 standing outside. 54:48 Therefore, you can say, we can say, 54:52 until we're blue in the face, that Jesus is in my heart, 54:55 but it may not be so just because we say so. 54:58 Because the True Witness says, "I am standing, knocking 55:02 at the door wanting entrance. 55:04 And I don't have entrance." 55:09 "Thou knowest not." 55:13 How serious is that? 55:15 How is it with you? 55:17 Are you ready to admit that you need help in this area? 55:23 That you may not know all that you need to know 55:26 in this respect? 55:27 Friends, we have to admit it. 55:29 I can stand, isn't it weird, I can stand here and tell us, 55:33 "We don't know," and be one of those who doesn't know. 55:37 Praise the Lord that the Lord will use people 55:39 and He will speak the truth through them even though 55:43 I need it as well as anyone else. 55:45 I am determined to believe that this is true. 55:48 And if this is true, then I have to take the steps necessary 55:54 to bring myself into line. 55:55 Not that I can bring myself. 55:57 Oh really friends, it's a matter of getting on my knees 56:01 with God and asking Him for the gift of a new heart 56:04 that He's promised. 56:05 Has He promised us a new heart? 56:07 Has He promised to renew the right spirit in us? 56:09 Has He promised to raise a people called the 144,000? 56:13 Without fault before God? Really? 56:16 Having the character of the Father and having His name 56:19 in their foreheads? 56:21 He's promised to do it. 56:23 He can do it for us. 56:24 How much do we want it? 56:26 That's the issue. 56:28 That's the issue. 56:29 I would like to ask you to bow, 56:31 and we're going to pray together. 56:33 Heavenly Father, Lord, we have such needs. 56:38 We are such a small people. 56:41 We have formed ideas and expectations in our minds 56:46 that may not be true. 56:48 We are ignorant, we are weak. 56:51 But You said that the weak things of this world are 56:55 going to confound the mighty. 56:56 And we'd like to see ourselves as You see us 56:59 so that we can lean on You all the more. 57:02 Oh heavenly Father, glorify Thyself in us, we pray. 57:05 Bless us the rest of this week as we now go in to study 57:10 what the solution is to our situation. 57:13 And we thank You for it. 57:14 In Jesus' name, amen. 57:17 God bless you all. 57:19 And we'll see you all tomorrow night. |
Revised 2014-12-17