Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
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live from the
3ABN Worship Center.
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Hello friends and welcome
to the 3ABN Worship Center
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here in southern Illinois.
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We say West
Frankfort, Thompsonville.
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If you lived down here, you'll
discover that they're just a
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hairline apart.
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And we thank you for tuning in.
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If you're tuning in
for the first time tonight,
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I just want to say you missed
a wonderful Anchor message
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to the Anchors series.
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And our speaker is one who
is blessed with a wonderful
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ability to
impart the Word of God.
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And he's chosen a topic
that is very urgent to the
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day in which we live.
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Last night's message
was, Laodicea's Sindrome.
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And that message is calling
the people of God to hear
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what the Spirit is
saying to the churches.
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Pastor Justin Torossian is going
to be speaking again tonight
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on the topic, The
Physician's Prescription.
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Now that we have
accepted our condition,
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how and where can
we find the remedy.
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We know the remedy is not
just one that is written by
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man's prescription, but truly
the One who knows our condition.
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Doesn't just tell
us what our need is,
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but also provides that need.
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Now Justin is a native
Californian, raised in the
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northern California
area above Napa Valley
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in the Pacific
Union College area.
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I lived in northern
California for some time.
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And if you want to
see beautiful country,
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go to northern
California to the Napa Valley.
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He worked in the
Central California Conference.
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He had an opportunity to
work as an associate with
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Pastor Stephen Bohr.
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And you know, Pastor
Stephen Bohr is a part of
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our 3ABN family.
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Presently he is at Andrews
University finishing up his
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MDiv in ministry.
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And we know that the
Lord is going to bless him.
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But he's not only an
American in many ways,
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but he's traveled to
Australia, Indonesia, Palau,
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the Philippines,
Mexico, Germany, and Cuba
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in evangelism, also
working along with Share Him,
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which is a program
that is simply sharing Him;
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that is, Jesus.
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So tonight, stay tuned for
the blessing that the Lord has
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prepared for your heart.
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And as the topic has encouraged,
pray that you will hear
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what the Spirit
says to the church.
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Now before I begin with
prayer, we're going to have some
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wonderful music tonight
by someone who's no stranger
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to me as the pastor.
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And after prayer we're
going to have her come.
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Lisa Yeager, who is a
wonderful minister of music,
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not only playing the piano,
but God has anointed her voice.
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And after our prayer tonight,
she's going to play the song
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and sing it, Jesus Messiah.
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And after her voice, the
next voice that you'll hear
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is that of
Pastor Justin Torossian.
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But let's bow and invite the
Lord's presence to be with us.
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Heavenly Father, we
thank You that You've called us
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not only to proclaim
the message, but to proclaim
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one that causes our
hearts to be stirred
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and to take a
serious look at where we are
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in our walk with You.
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Father, there are
those tuning in tonight that
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don't know Jesus.
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There are those that
have had a relationship
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with Him for many, many years.
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But Father, whatever
category, we pray that You will
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speak to each heart,
finding us where we are,
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leading us to where
You would have us to be.
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Bless Your man servant tonight;
Pastor Justin Torossian.
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Anoint his lips, and
may he speak to our hearts.
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As he blesses us,
Father, also bless him.
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We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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And now our music will be
brought to us by Lisa Yeager.
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And we know that
you will be blessed.
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He became sin, who knew no sin,
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that we might
become His righteousness.
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He humbled Himself
and carried the cross.
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Love so amazing.
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Love so amazing.
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Jesus Messiah;
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name above all names.
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Blessed Redeemer.
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Immanuel.
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The rescue for sinners,
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the ransom from Heaven;
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Jesus Messiah,
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Lord of all.
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His body the
bread, His blood the wine;
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broken and poured
out, all for love.
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The whole earth
trembled, and the veil was torn.
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Love so amazing.
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Love so amazing.
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Jesus Messiah;
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name above all names.
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Blessed Redeemer.
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Immanuel.
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The rescue for sinners,
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the ransom from Heaven;
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Jesus Messiah,
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Lord of all.
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All my hope is in You,
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all my hope is in You.
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All my hope is in You, Lord;
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the light of the world.
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Jesus Messiah;
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name above all names.
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Blessed Redeemer.
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Immanuel.
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The rescue for sinners,
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the ransom from Heaven;
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Jesus Messiah,
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Jesus my Savior.
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Jesus Messiah,
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Lord of all.
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Good evening,
brothers and sisters.
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Are you happy to be in
the house of the Lord tonight?
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Amen. And if
you're watching from home,
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know that the Lord
is in your home as well
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and He is present where you are.
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I'm happy to be here with
you tonight and continuing
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our series, this
Anchors Of Truth called,
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Called, Chosen, and Faithful.
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Last night's message
was an introductory message
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to Jesus' message
to the Laodiceans.
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And tonight's message is the
solution that Christ offers us.
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It was the end of His life.
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Christ has made His
decision to go to the cross.
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He had decided to go through
with the sacrifice for mankind.
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And He looked up into
heaven and said these words...
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He looked up into the sky,
and the Bible says that He said,
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"'Now My soul is
troubled; and what shall I say?
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"Father, save
Me from this hour"?
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But for this
purpose I came to this hour.
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Father, glorify Your name.'
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Then a voice came
from heaven, saying,
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'I have both glorified it
and will glorify it again.'
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Therefore the people
who stood by and heard it
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said that it had thundered.
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Others said, 'An
angel has spoken to Him.'"
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Friends, it's very interesting
that that day there was
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one crowd of people, but
they heard two different things.
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One group heard a voice from
heaven, a message from on high.
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The others just heard a
noise, they heard it thunder.
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What was the difference?
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Why did some hear one
thing and others heard another?
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The answer is
that spiritual things
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are spiritually discerned.
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The Holy Spirit is
what made the difference.
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And tonight, you'll
either hear just noise;
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the voice of a man
booming through a microphone
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and speakers, or you will hear
the voice of God to your soul.
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Do you want to hear
the voice of God tonight?
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So do I.
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Why don't we ask for the
Holy Spirit to give us wisdom
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to understand and
to apply His will.
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Let's pray together.
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Our Father in heaven, we
come before You asking that
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Your Spirit would continue
to be present here with us.
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Lord, we have
nothing to offer You.
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And in the words of that hymn,
nothing in our hand we bring;
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simply to Your cross we cling.
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Christ, we come
before You tonight asking
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that the same Spirit that
inspired the holy prophets
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in the writing of Your
Word would be present with
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each of us to help
us understand that Word.
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Lord, we pray that You
would anchor us in the truth.
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Thy Word is truth.
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We pray these things in
the precious name of Jesus,
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our Lord and Savior, amen.
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To briefly review what we've
covered so far in our series,
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Called, Chosen, and Faithful.
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The message for our series
comes to us from Jesus Himself
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from the book of Revelation.
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Now it's found in the
first part of Revelation.
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And last night we
discovered together that Christ
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appeared to John in
vision as John was on the
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island of Patmos.
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And Jesus gave a
message to His followers,
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not only for the first century
in the seven local literal
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churches of Asia Minor,
but that message extended
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to His people down through time.
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God chose those churches
and wrote them in that order,
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the messages to the
churches in that order,
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not in any
random or haphazard way.
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He did it because
each of those churches
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was going through something
and experiencing something
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that would be
symbolic of seven time periods
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of church history down
through time until Jesus
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would come again and will come
again in the clouds of glory.
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It makes sense, friends,
that the last church on the
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list that received a
letter from Jesus through John
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would be God's last day church.
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We saw that the last
church on the list is
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none other than Laodicea.
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Jesus' message to
Laodicea, as we saw last night,
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is specifically for us.
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We are symbolic...
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Or Laodicea is symbolic, rather,
of us as God's last day people.
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Last night we saw that
Jesus' message to Laodicea,
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starting in Revelation 3:17,
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had some bad news.
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Every gospel message
begins with the bad news.
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Jesus said...
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We saw and we learned together
that Jesus' choice of words
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was not random at
all, but very intentional.
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He called Laodicea
poor, even though they were
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the Wall Street
of the Middle East.
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They were a banking capital.
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One of the wealthiest cities.
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And we learned some of
how wealthy it was last night,
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seeing that they built
aqueducts to plumb in hot water
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from Hierapolis six miles
across the Lycus River valley.
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They were filthy
rich, so to speak.
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But Jesus said,
"You're spiritually poor."
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Then Jesus said
that they were blind.
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This was also no
coincidence, because Laodicea,
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as we say last
night, had a world famous
00:14:10.45\00:14:12.88
medical school there
and an ophthalmologist;
00:14:12.91\00:14:16.08
there was an eye doctor.
00:14:16.18\00:14:17.52
And the school also manufactured
medication and shipped it
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across the Mediterranean.
00:14:20.72\00:14:22.52
But Jesus said,
"Can't you see the irony?
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Although you manufacture
medication for the eyes,
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you're spiritually blind."
00:14:28.80\00:14:30.47
We also learned that
Laodicea would manufacture
00:14:31.07\00:14:35.04
black garments that
were very, very popular.
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Especially with ladies, as they
were a glossy black soft wool.
00:14:38.77\00:14:43.24
And they were
clothing the then known world
00:14:43.28\00:14:45.75
with these luxurious garments.
00:14:45.78\00:14:47.72
But Jesus said,
"You're spiritually naked."
00:14:47.95\00:14:50.85
Friends, Jesus' description
of Laodicea was terrible.
00:14:52.55\00:14:56.49
They're
destitute, they're empty.
00:14:57.19\00:14:59.63
They had nothing
positive said about them
00:14:59.89\00:15:02.56
in the entire message.
00:15:02.60\00:15:04.57
The bad news wasn't that they...
00:15:05.07\00:15:08.04
Well it was bad news,
but it wasn't the worst news.
00:15:08.07\00:15:10.51
The worst news was not that
they were wretched, miserable,
00:15:10.71\00:15:13.11
poor, blind, or naked.
00:15:13.14\00:15:15.01
The worst news was that
they didn't even know it.
00:15:15.44\00:15:18.91
Laodicea thought
that they were okay.
00:15:19.25\00:15:22.08
In the midst of their depravity
they felt like they were fine
00:15:22.45\00:15:25.75
because of the
things that surrounded them.
00:15:25.79\00:15:27.82
You know, it's all too possible
for us to dangerously be going
00:15:29.49\00:15:33.13
in the opposite
direction as where we need to go
00:15:33.16\00:15:36.50
and think that we're okay.
00:15:36.53\00:15:38.30
I'll never
forget, I was 11 years old
00:15:39.10\00:15:41.34
and my parents and I were
driving with my best friend,
00:15:41.64\00:15:44.97
Scotty Broeder, down
in the city of Fairfield.
00:15:45.01\00:15:47.74
And we were coming
home from a shopping trip.
00:15:47.78\00:15:49.68
It was Fairfield in
northern California.
00:15:49.91\00:15:51.91
Pastor and Mrs.
Lomacang actually pastored
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there for some years.
00:15:54.15\00:15:55.75
But we were driving
there, and we pulled out of a
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shopping complex onto the road.
00:15:57.82\00:15:59.75
And as we were slowly
pulling out onto the road,
00:16:00.06\00:16:02.86
we noticed someone who
was driving the wrong way.
00:16:02.89\00:16:05.69
So we started
hearing horns honk,
00:16:06.19\00:16:08.16
and we started honking our horn.
00:16:08.20\00:16:09.53
My dad honked the horn
to warn this guy that he was
00:16:09.56\00:16:11.27
going the wrong way.
00:16:11.30\00:16:12.63
And then a few seconds
later we saw somebody else
00:16:12.73\00:16:15.87
going the wrong way.
00:16:15.90\00:16:17.24
And then another
person going the wrong way.
00:16:17.81\00:16:20.34
And we thought, "Oh,
we're going the wrong way.
00:16:20.38\00:16:23.61
We're on the
opposite side of the road."
00:16:23.91\00:16:26.28
The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12
that, "There's a way that seems
00:16:26.75\00:16:29.98
right unto a man, but the end
thereof is the way of death."
00:16:30.02\00:16:33.62
And praise the Lord
this verse wasn't literally
00:16:33.66\00:16:35.49
fulfilled on that day.
00:16:35.52\00:16:37.09
We were fine.
00:16:37.59\00:16:38.93
But friends, it's all too
easy to think that the problem
00:16:39.13\00:16:42.23
lies outside of us when
really the problem lies with us.
00:16:42.26\00:16:47.00
It's all too possible to be
going in the wrong direction
00:16:47.37\00:16:50.91
and think that we're okay.
00:16:51.27\00:16:53.31
And this was the case
with the church of Laodicea
00:16:53.58\00:16:57.21
back in the first century.
00:16:57.25\00:16:58.71
And this is the case
with us as God's people today.
00:16:58.91\00:17:02.52
It's too easy to think
and feel like we're fine
00:17:03.12\00:17:06.45
when we are
actually in terrible shape.
00:17:06.89\00:17:09.69
The nature of the
disease of sin, as we saw,
00:17:10.69\00:17:13.53
is that we struggle to
recognize our condition.
00:17:13.73\00:17:17.13
This is the bad news.
00:17:17.60\00:17:19.60
But the good news is that Jesus,
as the heavenly Physician,
00:17:19.77\00:17:23.20
knows no disease
that He cannot cure.
00:17:23.37\00:17:26.21
Praise the Lord for that. Amen?
00:17:26.68\00:17:28.24
We can praise God that
Christ has never come across
00:17:28.64\00:17:32.05
a disease that He has
not been able to cure.
00:17:32.08\00:17:35.78
Friends, He's not just
the heavenly Physician,
00:17:36.79\00:17:39.55
but He's the heavenly Pharmacist
who fills the prescription.
00:17:39.79\00:17:43.32
And did so at the
cost of His own blood.
00:17:43.46\00:17:46.90
Jesus died in order to provide
that prescription for us.
00:17:47.36\00:17:51.90
Friends, tonight
our message is called,
00:17:52.83\00:17:54.60
The Physician's Prescription.
00:17:54.64\00:17:56.74
The Physician's Prescription.
00:17:57.17\00:17:58.71
We're going to examine
together Jesus' solution
00:17:59.07\00:18:01.64
to Laodicea's sindrome.
00:18:01.68\00:18:04.01
Once again, you're
going to need your Bibles.
00:18:04.45\00:18:06.11
I see that you
brought them here tonight.
00:18:06.15\00:18:08.25
And if you're at home,
feel free to go to your shelf,
00:18:08.28\00:18:11.79
unless you have your
Bible next to you already.
00:18:11.82\00:18:13.36
We're going to
be using our Bibles.
00:18:13.39\00:18:15.12
Many of the verses will be on
the screen for the sake of time,
00:18:15.39\00:18:18.19
but not all of them.
00:18:18.23\00:18:19.59
So you may want a
notepad and piece of paper to
00:18:19.63\00:18:22.20
jot down verses for
reference for future study.
00:18:22.30\00:18:25.33
And definitely go
ahead and grab your Bible.
00:18:25.57\00:18:28.47
Now our message
tonight is a simple one.
00:18:29.57\00:18:32.27
None the less, a powerful one.
00:18:33.01\00:18:35.64
A message from Jesus
is always powerful, amen?
00:18:36.78\00:18:39.55
Revelation 3
starting in verse 17.
00:18:40.22\00:18:44.25
I want to direct your attention
to something just as we begin.
00:18:44.29\00:18:46.86
Now let's read verse 17
together, and I want you to
00:18:48.59\00:18:51.39
count with me the adjectives;
00:18:51.43\00:18:53.09
the descriptive words that
Jesus gives of Laodicea here.
00:18:53.13\00:18:56.26
Are you ready?
00:18:56.30\00:18:57.63
Alright, here we go.
00:18:57.70\00:18:59.17
Okay, five, right?
00:19:10.11\00:19:12.18
Now we're going to
go to Revelation 3:18,
00:19:12.38\00:19:15.38
and I want you to count
with me how many solutions
00:19:15.42\00:19:19.05
Jesus offers in verse 18.
00:19:19.19\00:19:21.19
So we see Jesus gives
three descriptions, or rather
00:19:41.58\00:19:46.18
three solutions,
but five descriptions.
00:19:46.21\00:19:50.09
So the question comes,
what is the solution to being
00:19:50.42\00:19:53.92
wretched and miserable?
00:19:53.96\00:19:55.42
Friends, tomorrow night
our message is entitled,
00:19:56.22\00:19:58.16
Wretched, Miserable, Victorious.
00:19:58.19\00:20:01.50
And you're not
going to want to miss it.
00:20:01.73\00:20:03.10
Be sure to join us tomorrow
night to find out what it means
00:20:03.47\00:20:06.03
to be spiritually wretched
and miserable, and the solution
00:20:06.07\00:20:08.97
that Jesus offers us.
00:20:09.00\00:20:10.54
In these two words we
find a powerful truth.
00:20:10.57\00:20:15.74
And that is that
Jesus grants us the victory
00:20:15.78\00:20:18.91
over sin and over death.
00:20:19.41\00:20:21.02
Tonight our focus is going
to be on the part of Jesus'
00:20:21.75\00:20:25.12
prescriptive
solution found in verse 18.
00:20:25.22\00:20:28.62
Revelation 3:18
00:20:29.06\00:20:31.29
Now can anyone tell me
what this is a picture of?
00:20:32.03\00:20:37.23
Anyone?
00:20:37.27\00:20:38.60
That is quartz.
00:20:39.33\00:20:41.67
Quartz is often
found around gold ore.
00:20:42.24\00:20:45.24
Quartz is
commonly found around gold.
00:20:45.67\00:20:49.38
And this rock
actually contains gold in it.
00:20:49.41\00:20:52.21
This is what gold often looks
like before it's thrown into
00:20:52.61\00:20:55.72
the furnace and all the dross
and the junk is melted away
00:20:55.75\00:20:58.82
and all you have
left is pure gold.
00:20:59.09\00:21:01.79
So the question comes,
what does gold symbolize
00:21:02.12\00:21:06.29
in Jesus' solution
in Revelation 3:18?
00:21:06.33\00:21:10.57
He tells Laodicea, "I
counsel you to buy from Me
00:21:11.00\00:21:13.30
gold refined in the
fire, that you may be rich..."
00:21:13.34\00:21:16.04
So what does
this gold symbolize?
00:21:16.14\00:21:18.44
Well one thing I love about
the Bible is that the Bible
00:21:19.04\00:21:22.44
explains itself.
00:21:22.48\00:21:24.21
You know, God doesn't
give us some cryptic message
00:21:24.55\00:21:27.92
that we have to
have a PhD to understand,
00:21:27.95\00:21:30.62
or need special, you
know, specialized training in.
00:21:30.65\00:21:36.99
The Bible is able
to be understood by
00:21:37.03\00:21:40.36
the child as
well as the scholar.
00:21:40.40\00:21:42.53
And there's enough depth
and light there for all of us.
00:21:42.73\00:21:46.33
But 1 Peter 1:6-7
gives us the answer
00:21:46.60\00:21:51.61
of what gold is a symbol of.
00:21:51.64\00:21:54.11
Let's turn there
together, 1 Peter 1:6-7.
00:21:54.31\00:21:59.21
Peter is writing here to
the Christian believers who are
00:21:59.25\00:22:01.55
being
persecuted for their faith.
00:22:01.58\00:22:03.52
And he told them...
00:22:03.75\00:22:05.09
So Peter here says that
faith is symbolized by gold.
00:22:27.88\00:22:33.18
Not just any gold; gold
that is purified in the fire.
00:22:33.28\00:22:37.02
So friends, here we
see the Bible teaches that
00:22:37.55\00:22:40.06
this gold is a symbol of faith.
00:22:40.09\00:22:45.33
You know, as was her practice,
Ellen White echoed this biblical
00:22:45.63\00:22:49.10
reality a number of
places, but I'd just like to
00:22:49.13\00:22:51.93
share two of
them quickly with you.
00:22:51.97\00:22:53.77
From Christ's Object
Lessons, page 158, she says...
00:22:54.00\00:22:57.54
Friends, that gold
that Jesus wants to offer us
00:23:03.28\00:23:06.11
is faith that is
motivated, that is actuated,
00:23:06.15\00:23:09.32
that is moved by love.
00:23:09.35\00:23:11.52
In another place she said this,
00:23:11.75\00:23:13.89
Testimonies to the
Church, volume 2, page 36...
00:23:13.92\00:23:17.69
Now why did she say that love
takes the precedence of faith?
00:23:28.50\00:23:32.67
It's simple.
Because the Bible says so.
00:23:33.68\00:23:35.88
In the famous love
chapter by the apostle Paul,
00:23:36.21\00:23:39.21
1 Corinthians 13...
00:23:39.31\00:23:41.58
Let's turn there
together, 1 Corinthians 13.
00:23:42.45\00:23:44.65
Paul tells us something
that explains to us why
00:23:44.99\00:23:50.23
love takes the
precedence of faith.
00:23:50.73\00:23:53.36
1 Corinthians 13
starting in verse 2.
00:23:53.96\00:23:56.60
Friends, love and
faith must be combined.
00:24:18.65\00:24:21.86
They cannot be
separate from one another.
00:24:21.89\00:24:24.06
You know, Ellen White echoes
this, what Paul is saying here.
00:24:24.09\00:24:27.83
He's actually saying that
you can die for your faith,
00:24:28.03\00:24:31.23
but if your
motivation was not love for God,
00:24:31.57\00:24:34.90
then your death meant nothing.
00:24:35.00\00:24:36.77
This is what Paul was saying.
00:24:37.01\00:24:38.37
She echoes this in, Acts
of the Apostles, page 318,
00:24:38.77\00:24:41.98
where she says...
00:24:42.31\00:24:43.65
That is some strong words.
00:25:04.33\00:25:06.23
But it's just what we
read in 1 Corinthians 13:2-3.
00:25:06.27\00:25:10.44
Love and faith must be combined.
00:25:11.31\00:25:13.41
And I want to clarify
that though we may seem
00:25:13.44\00:25:16.11
to have all the faith in
the world, if love is not the
00:25:16.14\00:25:19.08
foundation of our
faith, it means nothing.
00:25:19.11\00:25:21.28
Someone can even
face a martyr's death
00:25:21.58\00:25:23.55
and that doesn't means
that they're guaranteed
00:25:23.79\00:25:26.12
the kingdom of heaven.
00:25:26.15\00:25:27.49
But I want to say, this
is in stark contrast to those
00:25:27.59\00:25:30.99
faithful men and women of
God who would not deny Christ
00:25:31.03\00:25:34.66
down through the ages
of history, especially
00:25:34.70\00:25:36.77
in the Dark Ages, down
through time and even today
00:25:36.80\00:25:40.14
in many parts of the world
where people are persecuted
00:25:40.17\00:25:42.64
for their faith, but
they love God so much
00:25:42.67\00:25:45.74
that they would
rather die than deny Him.
00:25:45.77\00:25:48.81
Friends, this is the
kind of faith that Jesus
00:25:49.04\00:25:51.75
wants to offer us.
00:25:51.78\00:25:53.15
This is the kind of
faith that is symbolized
00:25:53.31\00:25:56.48
by the gold, that pure gold.
00:25:56.58\00:25:59.19
It's faith that is
combined with heavenly love.
00:25:59.45\00:26:03.93
These two combined.
00:26:04.23\00:26:05.86
This is the type of
faith Christ wants to offer us.
00:26:06.09\00:26:09.60
This is what is
symbolized by the gold in
00:26:10.07\00:26:11.93
Revelation 3:18.
00:26:11.97\00:26:13.87
Now Jesus says three
things about the gold.
00:26:14.74\00:26:17.11
He says that they
are to purchase it,
00:26:17.51\00:26:19.97
that it is to be
tried in the fire,
00:26:20.28\00:26:22.94
and last of all He says that it
will make those who buy it rich.
00:26:23.11\00:26:27.02
I want to ask you something.
00:26:27.85\00:26:29.25
How is it that Jesus
told Laodicea to buy from Him
00:26:30.29\00:26:35.02
gold when He just told
them that they're poor?
00:26:35.06\00:26:38.33
It almost sounds
like telling somebody with
00:26:38.89\00:26:40.43
broken legs to run.
00:26:40.46\00:26:42.06
How is it that Laodicea
being poor can buy something;
00:26:42.73\00:26:46.63
much the more buy gold,
which is the standard of money?
00:26:46.67\00:26:49.87
You know, the church is poor.
00:26:51.17\00:26:54.61
The only thing that Laodicea
can pay is to pay attention.
00:26:55.41\00:26:59.38
Jesus, in a parallel
passage to this, Isaiah 55:1...
00:27:00.35\00:27:05.29
I invite you to turn
there with me in your Bibles.
00:27:05.32\00:27:08.02
Isaiah 55:1
00:27:08.26\00:27:11.29
Here Jesus says...
00:27:12.39\00:27:14.00
Friends, Jesus has paid the
price to provide us the gold,
00:27:30.98\00:27:35.72
the eye salve, and the spiritual
robe that He's offering us here
00:27:35.82\00:27:39.49
as the solution to our dilemma.
00:27:39.52\00:27:41.62
Now notice with me that it
doesn't say, "without cost."
00:27:42.29\00:27:46.39
It says without
price, but not without cost.
00:27:46.80\00:27:49.53
Though the price has
been paid by Christ for us to
00:27:50.07\00:27:52.53
receive this
faith and love combined,
00:27:52.57\00:27:55.07
to receive true
faith in the Father,
00:27:55.27\00:27:57.94
though the price has been
paid to receive the gold of the
00:27:58.34\00:28:02.34
Physician's prescription,
it's going to cost us something.
00:28:02.38\00:28:05.95
It's going to cost us everything
we have and everything we are.
00:28:06.75\00:28:11.05
We can give ourselves to God.
00:28:11.62\00:28:13.52
And this is what
He requires of us.
00:28:13.56\00:28:16.19
Now friends, I want to quickly
dispel a deception of Satan.
00:28:16.46\00:28:21.76
The devil is out
there convincing the world,
00:28:21.96\00:28:24.83
and I bought into
this in my younger years
00:28:25.00\00:28:27.70
when I left the Lord
for a couple of years,
00:28:27.74\00:28:29.77
the idea that in
order to come to God,
00:28:30.37\00:28:33.04
in order to give
your life to Him,
00:28:33.07\00:28:34.41
that you're going to
have to give up something.
00:28:34.44\00:28:36.95
You're going to
have to surrender
00:28:37.35\00:28:38.68
something that's worthwhile.
00:28:38.71\00:28:40.05
Friends, this is a lie.
00:28:40.08\00:28:42.08
There is no greater
life than serving God.
00:28:42.25\00:28:45.82
There is no greater life.
00:28:46.05\00:28:47.49
The Bible tells us, He says,
"Delight yourself in the Lord
00:28:47.52\00:28:51.29
and He will give you
the desires of your heart."
00:28:51.33\00:28:53.93
Serving God is the
greatest adventure.
00:28:54.23\00:28:57.20
We can't really
give something up.
00:28:57.43\00:28:59.53
Because God only asks
us to give up something
00:28:59.73\00:29:02.84
if He's going to
give us something
00:29:02.97\00:29:04.31
that's infinitely better.
00:29:04.34\00:29:05.67
God supplies us with
something infinitely better than
00:29:05.87\00:29:09.81
whatever it is that we
surrender to draw closer to Him.
00:29:09.84\00:29:14.78
Jesus said that the
gold, besides the fact that
00:29:15.75\00:29:18.72
they needed to purchase
it, He said that the gold
00:29:18.85\00:29:21.82
would make them rich.
00:29:21.86\00:29:24.03
You know, for my missions
class at Andrews University
00:29:24.39\00:29:27.23
at the seminary a
couple of months ago,
00:29:27.26\00:29:28.93
we read an article called,
"What is Poverty Anyway,"
00:29:29.13\00:29:32.77
written by a missiologist.
00:29:32.80\00:29:34.97
And the article was powerful.
00:29:35.30\00:29:37.34
This missiologist was
suggesting that poverty,
00:29:38.07\00:29:41.08
although in our minds poverty
is typically thought of as
00:29:41.28\00:29:43.91
being a deficit of
goods or a deficit of money,
00:29:43.95\00:29:47.38
he was suggesting that
poverty is deficit of any kind.
00:29:47.42\00:29:51.22
So if you're afraid,
it's a type of poverty because
00:29:51.72\00:29:55.36
you're poor when it comes
to peace and joy and assurance.
00:29:55.46\00:29:58.59
Now under this definition, many
people in the developing world
00:29:58.96\00:30:02.30
who we would
consider poor when it comes to
00:30:02.33\00:30:05.40
material possessions,
are wealthy when it comes to
00:30:05.73\00:30:09.50
family, relationships, loving
relationships with each other,
00:30:09.84\00:30:13.54
and having a faith in God.
00:30:13.58\00:30:15.74
Yet many of us here in the west
may be wealthy when it comes to
00:30:16.21\00:30:19.81
material possessions,
but poor when it comes to
00:30:19.85\00:30:22.68
loving relationships, and
poor when it comes to faith.
00:30:22.72\00:30:26.02
I'll never forget the first time
I went to a developing country.
00:30:26.55\00:30:30.33
I was 17 years old.
00:30:30.36\00:30:31.76
And we went on a mission
trip with our high school.
00:30:32.29\00:30:35.90
It was our senior class trip
and we went to this country.
00:30:35.93\00:30:40.30
And I'll never forget, we'd
been working in the barrios,
00:30:40.34\00:30:43.84
the poor
neighborhoods, for some time.
00:30:43.87\00:30:45.74
And by the end of the week,
I asked my professor, I said,
00:30:46.47\00:30:49.44
"How is it that these
people have virtually nothing,
00:30:49.68\00:30:54.58
but they're so happy?"
00:30:54.62\00:30:56.38
And I'll never
forget his words to me.
00:30:57.09\00:30:58.95
He said, "Justin, it's often not
until Jesus is all that we have
00:30:59.29\00:31:04.99
that we finally realize
He's all we'll ever need."
00:31:05.19\00:31:08.20
Friends, if we have
Christ, if we have each other,
00:31:08.83\00:31:12.13
if we have a loving
church family, friends, we have
00:31:12.17\00:31:15.20
greater wealth than all of
the world's wealth combined.
00:31:15.44\00:31:19.04
And we can be spiritually rich.
00:31:19.41\00:31:22.44
And you know, this
is what the world is
00:31:22.81\00:31:25.01
longing and looking for.
00:31:25.05\00:31:26.61
They're looking for a
people who are a mixture from
00:31:26.72\00:31:30.09
different
socio-economic backgrounds.
00:31:30.12\00:31:32.32
A mixture from different
cultures, different ethnicities,
00:31:32.35\00:31:35.56
different ages.
00:31:35.76\00:31:37.09
And all of these people
getting along and sharing
00:31:37.13\00:31:40.03
genuine love and
selflessness with each other.
00:31:40.06\00:31:42.60
This is what will testify
to the world the fact that
00:31:43.00\00:31:45.53
Jesus Christ is our
Redeemer and Savior.
00:31:45.57\00:31:48.24
Write this down
and check it out later,
00:31:48.47\00:31:50.01
John 17:20-21.
00:31:50.21\00:31:53.64
Jesus explains that
the strongest argument
00:31:53.84\00:31:56.98
in favor to the world of
the fact that God the Father
00:31:57.01\00:32:00.18
had sent Him as the Messiah
was the unity of His followers.
00:32:00.22\00:32:04.22
John 13:35, He said, "By
this shall all men know that
00:32:04.65\00:32:08.29
you are My disciples; by
your love for one another."
00:32:08.32\00:32:12.76
Friends, this is
the greatest wealth
00:32:13.23\00:32:15.66
that we could possibly have.
00:32:16.36\00:32:17.73
And when this happens, the world
will look and see, and say,
00:32:17.77\00:32:22.00
"How is it that you people are
treating each other so lovingly,
00:32:22.27\00:32:27.18
so selflessly?
00:32:27.38\00:32:28.71
How is it?
00:32:28.74\00:32:30.08
This is
contrary to human nature.
00:32:30.11\00:32:31.71
It's so different than
anything we've ever seen."
00:32:31.75\00:32:34.28
Friends, we'll be able
to look at them and say,
00:32:34.95\00:32:36.58
"You know, it's not
because of anything good in me.
00:32:36.62\00:32:38.89
But it's because of what God has
done and is doing in my life."
00:32:39.29\00:32:43.02
Friends, this will be
a testimony to the world
00:32:43.22\00:32:46.49
that Jesus Christ is
the Savior of mankind.
00:32:46.70\00:32:50.73
Do you want to be
rich in that kind of love?
00:32:51.37\00:32:53.27
Amen. So do I.
00:32:53.67\00:32:55.10
Before we move on to the
eye salve, Jesus tells Laodicea
00:32:56.14\00:32:59.01
something important about the
gold of faith and love combined.
00:32:59.04\00:33:04.58
He said that it
would be tried by fire.
00:33:04.85\00:33:08.05
In order for the gold
to go from this to this,
00:33:08.52\00:33:12.85
it needs to go through a fire.
00:33:13.59\00:33:15.76
Now when we hear the
words, "go through a fire,"
00:33:16.29\00:33:18.83
many of us think of those
Hebrew boys in Daniel chapter 3.
00:33:19.19\00:33:22.73
Those boys who decided
that they would not bow down
00:33:22.96\00:33:26.07
to this idol that King
Nebuchadnezzar had made.
00:33:26.10\00:33:29.07
They would not bow down and
break the second commandment
00:33:29.10\00:33:31.47
of God, even in
the face of death.
00:33:31.51\00:33:34.01
Because of it, they were
thrown in the fiery furnace.
00:33:34.34\00:33:37.51
And we know that God didn't
deliver them from the fire.
00:33:38.11\00:33:42.32
He delivered them in the fire.
00:33:42.42\00:33:44.49
Jesus was there
with them in the fire.
00:33:44.82\00:33:46.92
And friends,
there's a difference.
00:33:46.96\00:33:48.29
God doesn't always deliver
us from the trials in our life.
00:33:48.92\00:33:52.26
But He delivers us
often through them.
00:33:52.63\00:33:55.23
In that fire, the only
thing that was burned up
00:33:55.50\00:33:58.40
were the ropes that
bound those three Hebrew boys.
00:33:58.43\00:34:01.90
And it was in that fire
that they walked more closely
00:34:02.00\00:34:04.44
with Jesus than they
had ever walked before.
00:34:04.47\00:34:07.28
Friends, if we're going
through trials and difficulties
00:34:08.11\00:34:10.78
in our lives, God wants us
to look to Him in those times.
00:34:10.81\00:34:15.22
He wants us to cling to
His righteous right hand
00:34:15.52\00:34:19.59
so that in those experiences
our characters can grow
00:34:19.62\00:34:22.56
to be more and more like His.
00:34:22.59\00:34:24.89
You know, maybe you're
going through trials as you're
00:34:26.29\00:34:28.20
hearing this message just now.
00:34:28.23\00:34:30.10
Maybe you're going through
something in your life that
00:34:30.73\00:34:33.17
is the greatest challenge
that you have ever faced.
00:34:33.20\00:34:36.67
And you're
wondering, "Where is God?
00:34:36.87\00:34:39.57
Lord, where are You?
Why have You deserted me?"
00:34:39.91\00:34:42.78
Friend, God has not left you.
00:34:42.81\00:34:44.71
He is by your side.
00:34:45.01\00:34:46.58
Trust in His word and know
that He is with you in the fire.
00:34:46.95\00:34:51.25
He is going
through this with you.
00:34:51.45\00:34:53.39
Remember, remember this
one thing about the gold.
00:34:54.16\00:34:57.89
In that it is tried by fire.
00:34:58.46\00:35:00.50
The will of God will never
lead you where the grace of God
00:35:00.93\00:35:04.97
cannot keep you.
00:35:05.00\00:35:06.33
The will of God never
leads us where the grace of God
00:35:06.67\00:35:09.40
cannot keep us.
00:35:09.44\00:35:10.77
If there's a trial,
if there's a difficulty
00:35:10.81\00:35:12.31
that we're going through,
if we have given our lives
00:35:12.34\00:35:14.84
to Him, we can trust that it
has gone through Christ first.
00:35:14.88\00:35:18.65
And that He has only
allowed that which He knows
00:35:18.81\00:35:21.58
He can strengthen
us to make it through,
00:35:21.72\00:35:23.92
and that will enable
us to reflect His loving
00:35:24.29\00:35:27.59
character all the more.
00:35:27.62\00:35:29.29
Friends, God does not
allow us to go through the fires
00:35:30.63\00:35:33.83
of adversity to
cause needless pain,
00:35:33.86\00:35:37.07
but in order to
lead us to look to Him.
00:35:37.47\00:35:39.70
And like that gold, to refine
us, to get rid of the junk and
00:35:39.83\00:35:44.17
the habits, the little
things that are pulling us down.
00:35:44.37\00:35:47.64
Friends, He wants to refine us
even through our difficulties;
00:35:48.21\00:35:51.61
to purify our faith like gold.
00:35:51.78\00:35:54.78
I love the way that William
Penn, founder of the state of
00:35:55.18\00:35:57.65
Pennsylvania, said it.
00:35:57.69\00:35:59.05
He said, "No pain, no palm..."
00:35:59.39\00:36:02.16
Friends, whatever we have
to go through on this earth,
00:36:09.73\00:36:12.03
there is no price too high
to earn heaven, by God's grace.
00:36:12.07\00:36:16.34
Amen?
00:36:16.37\00:36:17.71
Christ has made
it possible for us.
00:36:17.74\00:36:20.34
And friends, all we
need to do is reach out and
00:36:20.54\00:36:22.41
grasp His hand in faith.
00:36:22.44\00:36:24.41
There is no price too high to
spend eternity with our Savior,
00:36:24.75\00:36:28.42
our Redeemer, and
our soon coming King.
00:36:28.62\00:36:31.22
Ellen White said it this way
in, Last Day Events, page 154...
00:36:31.75\00:36:35.62
Friends, God is saying to us in
the words of the beautiful hymn,
00:36:48.30\00:36:52.21
I invite you to sing
it with me if you know it.
00:36:52.24\00:36:54.51
When through fiery
trials our pathway shall lie,
00:36:55.71\00:37:01.25
My grace all
sufficient shall be thy supply.
00:37:01.52\00:37:07.09
The flame shall not
hurt thee; I only design
00:37:07.12\00:37:12.36
thy dross to consume,
and thy gold to refine.
00:37:12.39\00:37:19.07
Friends, any adversity,
any trial that we go through,
00:37:19.93\00:37:23.74
is nothing but a fire
that God is leading us through
00:37:23.77\00:37:27.04
to purify our characters.
00:37:27.08\00:37:29.11
His goal is not to cause
any needless pain to any of us,
00:37:29.51\00:37:32.85
but to refine us, to refine our
faith that it may be like gold.
00:37:32.95\00:37:38.62
Remember, His will will
never lead us where His grace
00:37:39.89\00:37:43.22
cannot keep us.
00:37:43.26\00:37:44.83
The next part of the
Physician's prescription
00:37:45.53\00:37:47.56
in Revelation 3:18
where Jesus says to Laodicea
00:37:47.86\00:37:52.63
at the end of verse
18, He says to them,
00:37:52.67\00:37:56.77
"...and anoint your eyes with
eye salve that you may see."
00:37:58.37\00:38:02.18
Now we know that Laodicea
was only partially blind.
00:38:02.51\00:38:06.38
You may ask, "Well
how do you know that?"
00:38:06.41\00:38:08.35
Because eye salve doesn't help
someone who's completely blind.
00:38:08.72\00:38:12.42
Laodicea had partial blindness.
00:38:12.92\00:38:15.49
When I was a boy, my parents
and I loved driving up to
00:38:15.69\00:38:18.49
Tahoe in Northern California.
00:38:18.53\00:38:20.36
I learned to ski
at a very young age.
00:38:20.63\00:38:23.26
And my father and
I would ski together.
00:38:23.30\00:38:25.13
My mom would
hang out in the lodge.
00:38:25.17\00:38:26.94
And after a long day
on the lifts together,
00:38:26.97\00:38:30.21
at 4:30 we would get back in our
car and drive to go back home
00:38:30.41\00:38:34.01
to Angwin on a Sunday
afternoon and evening.
00:38:34.21\00:38:37.91
And inevitably, as we
were driving the roads,
00:38:38.21\00:38:40.98
little specks of muddy water
would splash onto our windshield
00:38:41.32\00:38:45.45
one by one, and we
wouldn't recognize it until
00:38:45.49\00:38:48.76
our windshield was clouded over.
00:38:48.79\00:38:50.76
Now of course, we would
stop and fuel up on gas.
00:38:51.09\00:38:54.60
And when we would, my
dad and I would hop out and
00:38:54.63\00:38:57.40
we would grab paper
towels and a squeegee
00:38:57.60\00:39:00.10
and we'd clean
off that windshield.
00:39:00.14\00:39:01.87
We'd get back in the car,
and we'd all start driving
00:39:02.24\00:39:05.07
and say, "Wow, we
didn't realize how dirty that
00:39:05.11\00:39:07.78
windshield was
until we cleaned it.
00:39:07.81\00:39:09.68
We can see so much better now."
00:39:09.78\00:39:11.45
Now if any of you have
had glasses or contacts
00:39:12.08\00:39:16.08
and you've been fitted for them,
you also know what it's like
00:39:16.12\00:39:17.95
to be partially blind.
00:39:17.99\00:39:19.42
You remember when that right
lens clicked into place and
00:39:19.45\00:39:23.02
everything just became clear.
00:39:23.89\00:39:25.69
Laodicea was partly blind.
00:39:26.80\00:39:30.70
Now in the Bible, eyesight is
representative of understanding.
00:39:32.83\00:39:36.81
Psalm 119:18 is
one example of this.
00:39:37.14\00:39:40.01
David says...
00:39:40.04\00:39:41.38
David's prayer was
that God would help him
00:39:44.78\00:39:46.38
understand His word.
00:39:46.41\00:39:47.78
And that should be
our prayers as well.
00:39:47.82\00:39:50.02
Now this kind of language
isn't just limited to the Bible.
00:39:50.69\00:39:53.76
Think about it, we
still use it today.
00:39:54.22\00:39:56.36
When you're explaining
something to someone and
00:39:56.76\00:40:00.46
they don't understand,
and finally they get it,
00:40:00.50\00:40:03.03
they say, "Ah, I see.
00:40:03.33\00:40:05.80
Ah, I see."
00:40:05.83\00:40:07.17
So it's reflected in
our language even today.
00:40:07.20\00:40:09.24
Now scientifically speaking, it
is light that enables us to see.
00:40:09.57\00:40:14.44
And light is also a symbol of
what enables us to understand.
00:40:14.54\00:40:18.48
That's reflected
in modern language.
00:40:18.51\00:40:20.25
If someone comes to a slow but
sure understanding of something,
00:40:20.38\00:40:23.32
we say, "It dawned on them."
00:40:23.42\00:40:25.79
Right?
00:40:25.82\00:40:27.16
And we see these
little caricatures of people
00:40:27.19\00:40:29.16
when they understand something
and they realize something,
00:40:29.19\00:40:32.06
there's a light
bulb above their head.
00:40:32.09\00:40:34.76
So light is
symbolic of understanding
00:40:34.96\00:40:41.07
even in our language today.
00:40:41.10\00:40:42.74
Now we see this as a
biblical reality as well.
00:40:43.00\00:40:46.27
Psalm 119:130
00:40:46.41\00:40:49.01
That beautiful chapter, the
longest chapter in the Bible.
00:40:49.04\00:40:51.88
And it's about the law of God.
00:40:51.91\00:40:54.02
Psalm 119:130 says...
00:40:54.22\00:40:56.52
So the Bible, as
God's word, is the light
00:41:04.29\00:41:06.90
that enables us to see.
00:41:06.93\00:41:08.63
But Laodicea's problem, and our
problem as Laodicean Christians,
00:41:08.86\00:41:13.30
is that we are partly blind.
00:41:13.34\00:41:15.64
Our vision is skewed.
00:41:16.24\00:41:17.91
Even with the
light that God's Word is,
00:41:18.37\00:41:21.34
we cannot fully understand
it unless we receive the
00:41:21.38\00:41:25.58
eye salve that He offers us.
00:41:25.61\00:41:27.85
The eye salve is
symbolic of wisdom and grace
00:41:28.28\00:41:31.65
that God gives us to
help us understand the Bible.
00:41:31.69\00:41:34.96
And this wisdom and
grace is given to us by
00:41:34.99\00:41:37.06
the third person of the
Godhead, the Holy Spirit.
00:41:37.16\00:41:40.30
Now I want to say something.
00:41:40.90\00:41:42.53
Contrary to a lot of the junk
that comes out of Hollywood,
00:41:42.56\00:41:46.00
there is no power in the
physical object of the Bible.
00:41:46.03\00:41:50.41
If the devil appeared to
you right now, and you had no
00:41:51.04\00:41:54.94
living faith in the
Bible, but you pulled it out
00:41:54.98\00:41:57.28
and started reading it hoping
that it would cause him to flee,
00:41:57.31\00:42:00.02
he would grab it
out of your hand and
00:42:00.05\00:42:01.38
start reading it back to you.
00:42:01.42\00:42:02.75
There is no power in the
physical object of the Bible.
00:42:03.15\00:42:07.32
Furthermore, neither is
there power in the information
00:42:07.79\00:42:11.19
in the Bible.
00:42:11.23\00:42:12.56
And before you deem me
a heretic, let me explain.
00:42:12.66\00:42:15.60
The information in the
Bible by itself has no power.
00:42:15.90\00:42:20.20
This is why we see
secular university professors
00:42:20.34\00:42:23.61
who are so called Bible scholars
who are actually atheists.
00:42:23.64\00:42:27.54
Because they're treating
the Bible like a piece of
00:42:27.68\00:42:29.54
human literature rather
than the living Word of God.
00:42:29.58\00:42:33.28
Friends, when it comes to
the Bible, we need more than
00:42:33.72\00:42:36.85
a knowledge of it.
00:42:36.89\00:42:38.22
We need a living faith in it.
00:42:38.25\00:42:40.76
This is what is a necessity.
00:42:41.19\00:42:44.29
You know, years ago Pastor
Joe Crews preached a sermon
00:42:45.33\00:42:48.50
called, Missing
Heaven by Eighteen Inches.
00:42:48.60\00:42:51.17
And this brings a mental
picture of somebody just,
00:42:51.67\00:42:54.70
you know, barely
reaching out on the ground
00:42:54.80\00:42:57.27
sprawled out and just
having missed the Pearly Gates
00:42:57.31\00:43:00.74
as they close, right?
00:43:00.78\00:43:02.11
But the reason he titled
this sermon this was because
00:43:02.14\00:43:04.08
eighteen inches is the average
distance from the human head
00:43:04.11\00:43:07.62
to the human heart.
00:43:07.88\00:43:09.35
Friends, many people will
miss heaven by eighteen inches.
00:43:09.85\00:43:13.86
It is not enough to have a
head knowledge of God's Word.
00:43:14.06\00:43:17.53
We must have a
living faith in it.
00:43:17.56\00:43:20.86
Brothers and sisters,
if all we have is a mental
00:43:21.23\00:43:23.80
knowledge of the
truth, it's insufficient.
00:43:24.00\00:43:27.84
In fact, it's
less than insufficient,
00:43:28.10\00:43:30.31
worse than insufficient.
00:43:30.34\00:43:31.67
It's demonic.
00:43:31.74\00:43:33.17
The Bible says that even
the demons believe, and tremble.
00:43:34.08\00:43:37.38
It's not enough to have
a knowledge of the Bible.
00:43:37.81\00:43:41.52
We need to have a
living faith in God's Word.
00:43:41.75\00:43:45.29
The Bible teaches that
information without application
00:43:45.85\00:43:49.32
results in greater condemnation.
00:43:49.36\00:43:51.56
But praise God that
biblical information
00:43:52.09\00:43:55.93
with Spirit led application
results in life transformation,
00:43:55.96\00:44:00.27
and ultimately in salvation.
00:44:00.37\00:44:02.60
And friends, this is
what the eye salve of
00:44:02.87\00:44:05.01
God's Word symbolizes.
00:44:05.04\00:44:07.28
The wisdom and grace
to understand the Bible
00:44:07.31\00:44:10.41
and to apply it to our lives.
00:44:10.61\00:44:12.68
And it comes through the
third person of the Godhead,
00:44:12.81\00:44:15.28
the Holy Spirit Himself.
00:44:15.32\00:44:17.32
Friends, the gold represents
faith and love combined.
00:44:19.49\00:44:23.53
We saw that it's faith that
is tried and tested by fire.
00:44:23.79\00:44:28.60
Faith that has a
living experience with God
00:44:28.90\00:44:31.57
because it's been
through difficulties.
00:44:31.60\00:44:33.80
As we just learned, the
eye salve represents our
00:44:34.27\00:44:36.60
understanding and
application of Bible truth
00:44:36.64\00:44:40.08
by the Holy Spirit.
00:44:40.11\00:44:41.64
Bible information, point
number two, Bible information
00:44:42.31\00:44:45.61
with Spirit led application
results in life transformation.
00:44:45.65\00:44:50.72
Friends, do you want
your life to be transformed
00:44:50.92\00:44:53.09
by the Word of God?
00:44:53.12\00:44:54.46
Amen. So do I.
00:44:54.62\00:44:55.96
The Holy Spirit can make it
a living reality in our lives.
00:44:56.22\00:45:00.46
The last description that
Jesus gives is that the church
00:45:00.96\00:45:04.40
is wretched, miserable,
poor, blind, and naked.
00:45:04.43\00:45:08.27
Now the answer to the church
being wretched and miserable
00:45:08.70\00:45:13.48
we're going to see the
solution to tomorrow night
00:45:13.51\00:45:16.41
in our message.
00:45:16.44\00:45:17.78
Tonight we've seen
what the gold symbolizes
00:45:17.91\00:45:20.25
and what the eye
salve symbolizes.
00:45:20.28\00:45:22.32
So all we have left
for tonight is the answer
00:45:22.35\00:45:25.65
to spiritual nakedness.
00:45:25.69\00:45:28.26
Now before we examine the
solution, we really have to
00:45:29.26\00:45:32.19
understand the problem.
00:45:32.23\00:45:33.63
What does it mean that
we are spiritually naked?
00:45:33.93\00:45:36.77
We find an important detail
in verse 18 of Jesus' message.
00:45:37.20\00:45:42.04
And it's actually in
part of the solution.
00:45:42.34\00:45:44.27
Another detail about
being spiritually naked,
00:45:44.31\00:45:46.41
He says there...
00:45:46.44\00:45:47.78
So what is
connected, according to Jesus,
00:45:56.72\00:45:58.85
to Laodicea's nakedness?
00:45:58.89\00:46:00.79
Shame.
00:46:00.82\00:46:02.16
When was the first time
that someone was ashamed of
00:46:02.26\00:46:05.03
their nakedness in Scripture?
00:46:05.06\00:46:06.49
Adam and Eve,
the Garden of Eden.
00:46:07.50\00:46:09.66
We know that Adam and Eve...
00:46:09.96\00:46:11.30
And we don't have time
to get into this in depth.
00:46:11.33\00:46:13.30
But study it out later.
00:46:13.44\00:46:14.77
Write down this
verse, Psalm 104:2.
00:46:14.80\00:46:22.54
You know, Adam and Eve were
clothed with garments of light.
00:46:22.78\00:46:26.15
Because the Bible says in
Genesis 1:27 that they were
00:46:26.31\00:46:29.02
made in the image of God.
00:46:29.05\00:46:30.69
Psalm 104:2 says
that God clothes Himself
00:46:30.72\00:46:33.66
with light like with a garment.
00:46:33.69\00:46:35.59
Now in the Bible...
00:46:35.82\00:46:37.23
And by the way, if you
want further study on that,
00:46:37.43\00:46:40.86
there's an excellent series
by Pastor Stephen Bohr called,
00:46:40.90\00:46:43.60
The Robe of Life, that
is available through 3ABN,
00:46:43.63\00:46:46.94
as well as Secrets Unsealed.
00:46:46.97\00:46:48.54
And it will go into more depth
than we are able to tonight
00:46:48.64\00:46:53.27
on the robe of righteousness
that Jesus wants to offer us.
00:46:53.31\00:46:56.44
Now in the Bible,
robes represent character.
00:46:56.91\00:47:00.52
What do they represent?
00:47:00.55\00:47:01.88
Character.
00:47:02.32\00:47:03.65
We see this in Isaiah
64:6, among many other places.
00:47:03.69\00:47:07.99
There, the Bible says,
"...and all your righteousnesses
00:47:08.19\00:47:13.19
are as filthy rags."
00:47:13.23\00:47:16.87
Here, the Bible tells us
that "all our righteousnesses
00:47:18.10\00:47:21.27
are as filthy rags; we all fade
as a leaf, and our iniquities,
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like the wind,
have taken us away."
00:47:25.47\00:47:28.21
When it says, "righteousnesses,"
here, it means our righteous
00:47:28.41\00:47:30.95
deeds, our righteous actions.
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The best things that we can
offer, without the help of the
00:47:33.18\00:47:36.25
Holy Spirit, are
worthless in the sight of God.
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Robes represent character.
00:47:39.39\00:47:42.26
And we see this here.
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Now when Adam and Eve sinned,
they lost their robes of light.
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Genesis 3:7
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Genesis 3:7 tells us this.
00:47:49.73\00:47:52.30
That right when
Adam and Eve sinned,
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it says that they
knew that they were naked.
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Friends, they literally
tried to cover themselves
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with the works
of their own hands.
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And when God came to
them, we see in verses 9 to 11
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that when God asked
Adam what had happened,
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he blamed Eve.
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And he blamed God
because he said, "The woman
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which You gave me..."
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Then when He asked
Eve, Eve blamed the serpent.
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And also inadvertently
blaming God because
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God made the serpent.
00:48:28.60\00:48:30.07
So friends, they
tried to justify themselves.
00:48:30.57\00:48:34.64
And you know, I use
to read this and think,
00:48:35.98\00:48:37.71
"What is wrong
with Adam and Eve?
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Don't they know that
God knows everything?
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Who are they trying to fool?"
00:48:42.28\00:48:43.82
Right?
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They were justifying and trying
to explain away their sins
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when God knew.
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But friends, don't
we do the same thing?
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Don't we try to make
excuses for our sins?
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Don't we try at
times to excuse our sins
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and maybe the sins of
our children or grandchildren
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when we dismiss lying as fibbing
or just being imaginative?
00:49:03.47\00:49:08.04
Or maybe by making
jokes when we swear,
00:49:08.34\00:49:11.61
and saying, "Pardon my French,"
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when we curse and
take God's name in vain?
00:49:13.18\00:49:15.58
Friends, when we excuse our
sins and make light of our sins,
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we are tying God's
hands from forgiving us.
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Because God cannot cure us
of something that we don't admit
00:49:25.13\00:49:29.13
we have a problem with.
00:49:29.16\00:49:30.50
God can't take something
away if we do not confess
00:49:30.97\00:49:34.30
the sin to Him.
00:49:34.34\00:49:35.67
And when we justify ourselves,
we're preventing God from
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justifying us and
from forgiving us.
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We're preventing
God from transforming us
00:49:43.18\00:49:45.68
and changing our characters.
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You know, the Bible
says there that when God came
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to Adam and Eve, He did not
do it with a vindictive spirit.
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You know, Adam and Eve
stood there physically naked
00:49:59.69\00:50:02.66
and spiritually empty.
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They were condemned to die.
00:50:05.10\00:50:07.07
And this was the result
of cutting themselves off
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from God who is
the source of life.
00:50:10.04\00:50:12.57
They were facing forever
being blotted out of existence.
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Satan no doubt
said, "Aha, they're mine."
00:50:17.28\00:50:20.72
But friends, praise the Lord
that as soon as there was sin,
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there was a Savior.
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Christ stepped in and He said,
"No, I will take their place.
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I will die in man's stead.
00:50:31.83\00:50:33.60
Let Me die in man's
place and let them go free."
00:50:33.63\00:50:36.80
Friends, praise
the Lord for Jesus.
00:50:37.27\00:50:39.37
There was the first
animal sacrifice offered there.
00:50:39.93\00:50:43.57
The first animal sacrifice,
it was an innocent lamb.
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And this lamb pointed
forward to Jesus Christ,
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the Lamb of God who would
take away the sins of the world.
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And you know, that lamb was not
only the first creature to die
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on planet earth, it was
the first creature to die
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in the universe.
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Think about it.
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This is why Jesus is
called the Lamb slain from the
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foundation of the world.
00:51:09.60\00:51:11.43
Because this
lamb pointed forward.
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It pointed Adam and Eve's
eyes to the future time of hope
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where Jesus the Messiah would
come and die in their place.
00:51:16.94\00:51:20.54
Jesus, the Lamb of God,
slain from the foundation
00:51:21.08\00:51:24.78
of the world who takes
away the sins of the world.
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Praise God for Jesus and
the gift that He offers us.
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The Bible says that after
this, God saw Adam and Eve
00:51:35.29\00:51:40.00
in their fig leaf
garments, a symbol of their
00:51:40.03\00:51:42.93
self justification,
and these were not enough.
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God clothed them.
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And they needed it.
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Genesis 3:21
00:51:51.94\00:51:53.84
Genesis 3:21
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After that animal sacrifice,
that sacrifice of the lamb
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that pointed forward
to Jesus, God covered them
00:52:01.08\00:52:05.12
as only He could.
00:52:05.15\00:52:06.59
Also for Adam and his
wife, the Bible says...
00:52:07.22\00:52:11.16
Friends, God gave
them a physical symbol
00:52:18.47\00:52:20.77
of a spiritual reality.
00:52:20.80\00:52:22.87
You see, before, they had
garments of light which was
00:52:23.04\00:52:25.47
an outward
reflection of the inward reality
00:52:25.51\00:52:27.71
that they were pure
and walking with God.
00:52:27.74\00:52:30.01
But when those disappeared, only
God could solve the problem.
00:52:30.21\00:52:33.78
And He did so with a physical
symbol of a spiritual reality
00:52:33.82\00:52:38.29
that Jesus would cover them.
00:52:38.49\00:52:41.16
The transformation of
life that could take place
00:52:41.52\00:52:44.19
thanks to Christ and
His future sacrifice.
00:52:44.23\00:52:47.33
Friends, the good news
is that the blood of Jesus,
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the robe that He offers
us doesn't just cover us
00:52:51.97\00:52:54.37
in our sins.
00:52:54.40\00:52:55.74
Can you imagine a child playing
outside and getting filthy,
00:52:55.77\00:52:58.41
and them coming home and
their parent just meeting them
00:52:58.71\00:53:01.51
at the door and saying, "Oh
here, just wear this jacket."
00:53:01.54\00:53:04.51
And covering them up and saying,
"Come on into the house."
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Of course not.
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And friends, it's
no different with God.
00:53:09.32\00:53:11.55
He doesn't just cover us in
the robe of Jesus' righteousness
00:53:11.65\00:53:14.62
and imagine that we're
okay and say, "You know,
00:53:14.66\00:53:17.99
I know you're messed up,
but for the sake of Jesus
00:53:18.63\00:53:21.56
I'm going to let
you into heaven."
00:53:21.60\00:53:22.93
No.
00:53:23.20\00:53:24.53
The blood of Jesus not only
offers us pardon for the past,
00:53:24.57\00:53:28.40
but power in the present
to be cleansed from our sins,
00:53:28.44\00:53:32.47
to be transformed in character,
to be more like Jesus,
00:53:32.51\00:53:36.28
that we can be prepared
not just to get into heaven,
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but to fit into heaven.
00:53:40.35\00:53:42.08
This is what God's
robe of righteousness does.
00:53:42.88\00:53:46.92
My favorite quote right now
outside the Bible is this one.
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From Christ's Object
Lessons, page 311 paragraph 4...
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Christ's righteousness
does more than just cover us up.
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It transforms us.
00:54:37.07\00:54:38.67
It changes us.
00:54:38.87\00:54:40.44
Jesus took our filthy, blood
stained, sinful robes on Himself
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so that He could gives
us the pure white robes
00:54:46.11\00:54:48.85
of His righteousness.
00:54:49.15\00:54:50.65
And did you know that
He did this spiritually,
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but this was physically
illustrated in His life.
00:54:54.82\00:54:58.16
Remember with me at
the end of Jesus' life.
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Now first of all,
Isaiah 1:18 says...
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Now remember with me, at the end
of Jesus' life, what happened?
00:55:14.01\00:55:18.05
Let's go there
together, Matthew 27.
00:55:18.25\00:55:20.95
Jesus was surrounded by
soldiers who mocked Him,
00:55:22.38\00:55:28.09
who spit in His face
and pressed down on His head
00:55:28.26\00:55:30.93
a crown of thorns.
00:55:30.96\00:55:32.33
But before this,
the Bible says...
00:55:32.86\00:55:35.03
Friends, this was a
symbol, a physical symbol,
00:55:46.11\00:55:49.08
of the spiritual reality
that the sins of the world,
00:55:49.11\00:55:52.48
your sins and my
sins, were being laid upon
00:55:52.68\00:55:54.88
the shoulders of our Redeemer.
00:55:54.92\00:55:56.85
Friends, Christ took our robe
of impurity, our scarlet robe,
00:55:57.72\00:56:03.49
so that He could give
us the pure white robe
00:56:04.03\00:56:06.09
of His righteousness.
00:56:06.13\00:56:07.60
Christ hung naked on the
cross between heaven and earth
00:56:08.96\00:56:12.37
so that we could be clothed.
00:56:12.40\00:56:14.27
He wore the crown of
thorns so that we could
00:56:14.80\00:56:18.64
wear the crown of life.
00:56:18.67\00:56:20.11
Friends, He wants to clothe
us with His robe of light.
00:56:21.28\00:56:24.85
Christ paid a debt
that He did not owe
00:56:25.25\00:56:28.25
because we owed a
debt that we could not pay.
00:56:28.52\00:56:31.35
Praise the Lord that
the Physician offers us
00:56:32.15\00:56:35.72
the spiritual
prescription with His own life.
00:56:35.76\00:56:39.13
Friends, Christ gave
His all for you and me.
00:56:40.73\00:56:43.83
No matter what trial
we may be going through,
00:56:44.63\00:56:47.00
no matter what difficulty,
Christ wants to fill us with
00:56:48.04\00:56:52.41
His spirit, He wants to walk
with us through those trials.
00:56:52.44\00:56:55.84
Friends, do you want to
say tonight, "Lord, You gave
00:56:56.28\00:56:59.41
Your all for me.
00:56:59.45\00:57:00.78
I want to give my all for You."
00:57:01.48\00:57:03.35
You want to say, "Lord, I
give myself to You tonight."
00:57:04.39\00:57:07.29
Amen. Let's pray together.
00:57:07.92\00:57:09.52
I invite you to join
me in song if you know it.
00:57:14.36\00:57:16.53
Thank You, Lord,
for saving my soul;
00:57:17.47\00:57:24.37
thank You, Lord,
for making me whole.
00:57:24.64\00:57:31.51
Thank You,
Lord, for giving to me
00:57:32.15\00:57:39.25
Thou great
salvation so rich and free.
00:57:39.62\00:57:48.46
Father, we thank You, we thank
You for the sacrifice of Jesus.
00:57:48.50\00:57:53.54
Thank You so much, Lord,
that You bore our sins...
00:57:54.64\00:57:57.74