Participants: Justin Torossian
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000157
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00:14 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
00:16 live from the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:23 Hello friends and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center 00:26 here in southern Illinois. 00:28 We say West Frankfort, Thompsonville. 00:30 If you lived down here, you'll discover that they're just a 00:33 hairline apart. 00:34 And we thank you for tuning in. 00:36 If you're tuning in for the first time tonight, 00:38 I just want to say you missed a wonderful Anchor message 00:41 to the Anchors series. 00:43 And our speaker is one who is blessed with a wonderful 00:47 ability to impart the Word of God. 00:49 And he's chosen a topic that is very urgent to the 00:53 day in which we live. 00:55 Last night's message was, Laodicea's Sindrome. 00:58 And that message is calling the people of God to hear 01:01 what the Spirit is saying to the churches. 01:04 Pastor Justin Torossian is going to be speaking again tonight 01:07 on the topic, The Physician's Prescription. 01:10 Now that we have accepted our condition, 01:13 how and where can we find the remedy. 01:16 We know the remedy is not just one that is written by 01:18 man's prescription, but truly the One who knows our condition. 01:22 Doesn't just tell us what our need is, 01:25 but also provides that need. 01:28 Now Justin is a native Californian, raised in the 01:31 northern California area above Napa Valley 01:34 in the Pacific Union College area. 01:36 I lived in northern California for some time. 01:38 And if you want to see beautiful country, 01:41 go to northern California to the Napa Valley. 01:45 He worked in the Central California Conference. 01:48 He had an opportunity to work as an associate with 01:50 Pastor Stephen Bohr. 01:51 And you know, Pastor Stephen Bohr is a part of 01:54 our 3ABN family. 01:55 Presently he is at Andrews University finishing up his 01:59 MDiv in ministry. 02:01 And we know that the Lord is going to bless him. 02:03 But he's not only an American in many ways, 02:06 but he's traveled to Australia, Indonesia, Palau, 02:09 the Philippines, Mexico, Germany, and Cuba 02:12 in evangelism, also working along with Share Him, 02:15 which is a program that is simply sharing Him; 02:18 that is, Jesus. 02:19 So tonight, stay tuned for the blessing that the Lord has 02:22 prepared for your heart. 02:24 And as the topic has encouraged, pray that you will hear 02:27 what the Spirit says to the church. 02:29 Now before I begin with prayer, we're going to have some 02:32 wonderful music tonight by someone who's no stranger 02:35 to me as the pastor. 02:36 And after prayer we're going to have her come. 02:38 Lisa Yeager, who is a wonderful minister of music, 02:42 not only playing the piano, but God has anointed her voice. 02:46 And after our prayer tonight, she's going to play the song 02:49 and sing it, Jesus Messiah. 02:52 And after her voice, the next voice that you'll hear 02:55 is that of Pastor Justin Torossian. 02:58 But let's bow and invite the Lord's presence to be with us. 03:01 Heavenly Father, we thank You that You've called us 03:04 not only to proclaim the message, but to proclaim 03:08 one that causes our hearts to be stirred 03:11 and to take a serious look at where we are 03:13 in our walk with You. 03:15 Father, there are those tuning in tonight that 03:18 don't know Jesus. 03:19 There are those that have had a relationship 03:22 with Him for many, many years. 03:24 But Father, whatever category, we pray that You will 03:26 speak to each heart, finding us where we are, 03:29 leading us to where You would have us to be. 03:32 Bless Your man servant tonight; Pastor Justin Torossian. 03:36 Anoint his lips, and may he speak to our hearts. 03:39 As he blesses us, Father, also bless him. 03:42 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 03:46 And now our music will be brought to us by Lisa Yeager. 03:49 And we know that you will be blessed. 04:04 He became sin, who knew no sin, 04:09 that we might become His righteousness. 04:15 He humbled Himself and carried the cross. 04:23 Love so amazing. 04:30 Love so amazing. 04:36 Jesus Messiah; 04:42 name above all names. 04:48 Blessed Redeemer. 04:54 Immanuel. 05:00 The rescue for sinners, 05:07 the ransom from Heaven; 05:12 Jesus Messiah, 05:19 Lord of all. 05:27 His body the bread, His blood the wine; 05:33 broken and poured out, all for love. 05:39 The whole earth trembled, and the veil was torn. 05:46 Love so amazing. 05:52 Love so amazing. 05:58 Jesus Messiah; 06:04 name above all names. 06:09 Blessed Redeemer. 06:15 Immanuel. 06:21 The rescue for sinners, 06:27 the ransom from Heaven; 06:33 Jesus Messiah, 06:39 Lord of all. 06:46 All my hope is in You, 06:52 all my hope is in You. 06:58 All my hope is in You, Lord; 07:04 the light of the world. 07:14 Jesus Messiah; 07:21 name above all names. 07:27 Blessed Redeemer. 07:33 Immanuel. 07:39 The rescue for sinners, 07:45 the ransom from Heaven; 07:51 Jesus Messiah, 07:57 Jesus my Savior. 08:04 Jesus Messiah, 08:14 Lord of all. 08:32 Good evening, brothers and sisters. 08:35 Are you happy to be in the house of the Lord tonight? 08:38 Amen. And if you're watching from home, 08:40 know that the Lord is in your home as well 08:42 and He is present where you are. 08:44 I'm happy to be here with you tonight and continuing 08:48 our series, this Anchors Of Truth called, 08:50 Called, Chosen, and Faithful. 08:54 Last night's message was an introductory message 08:59 to Jesus' message to the Laodiceans. 09:02 And tonight's message is the solution that Christ offers us. 09:08 It was the end of His life. 09:12 Christ has made His decision to go to the cross. 09:17 He had decided to go through with the sacrifice for mankind. 09:21 And He looked up into heaven and said these words... 09:27 He looked up into the sky, and the Bible says that He said, 09:30 "'Now My soul is troubled; and what shall I say? 09:34 "Father, save Me from this hour"? 09:36 But for this purpose I came to this hour. 09:39 Father, glorify Your name.' 09:43 Then a voice came from heaven, saying, 09:45 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.' 09:50 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it 09:53 said that it had thundered. 09:55 Others said, 'An angel has spoken to Him.'" 10:00 Friends, it's very interesting that that day there was 10:03 one crowd of people, but they heard two different things. 10:06 One group heard a voice from heaven, a message from on high. 10:11 The others just heard a noise, they heard it thunder. 10:14 What was the difference? 10:16 Why did some hear one thing and others heard another? 10:19 The answer is that spiritual things 10:21 are spiritually discerned. 10:24 The Holy Spirit is what made the difference. 10:27 And tonight, you'll either hear just noise; 10:31 the voice of a man booming through a microphone 10:33 and speakers, or you will hear the voice of God to your soul. 10:39 Do you want to hear the voice of God tonight? 10:41 So do I. 10:42 Why don't we ask for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom 10:45 to understand and to apply His will. 10:47 Let's pray together. 10:50 Our Father in heaven, we come before You asking that 10:55 Your Spirit would continue to be present here with us. 10:59 Lord, we have nothing to offer You. 11:02 And in the words of that hymn, nothing in our hand we bring; 11:05 simply to Your cross we cling. 11:08 Christ, we come before You tonight asking 11:11 that the same Spirit that inspired the holy prophets 11:14 in the writing of Your Word would be present with 11:17 each of us to help us understand that Word. 11:20 Lord, we pray that You would anchor us in the truth. 11:25 Thy Word is truth. 11:27 We pray these things in the precious name of Jesus, 11:29 our Lord and Savior, amen. 11:35 To briefly review what we've covered so far in our series, 11:39 Called, Chosen, and Faithful. 11:42 The message for our series comes to us from Jesus Himself 11:46 from the book of Revelation. 11:48 Now it's found in the first part of Revelation. 11:51 And last night we discovered together that Christ 11:53 appeared to John in vision as John was on the 11:56 island of Patmos. 11:57 And Jesus gave a message to His followers, 11:59 not only for the first century in the seven local literal 12:03 churches of Asia Minor, but that message extended 12:06 to His people down through time. 12:09 God chose those churches and wrote them in that order, 12:13 the messages to the churches in that order, 12:15 not in any random or haphazard way. 12:18 He did it because each of those churches 12:20 was going through something and experiencing something 12:23 that would be symbolic of seven time periods 12:26 of church history down through time until Jesus 12:30 would come again and will come again in the clouds of glory. 12:34 It makes sense, friends, that the last church on the 12:37 list that received a letter from Jesus through John 12:40 would be God's last day church. 12:43 We saw that the last church on the list is 12:45 none other than Laodicea. 12:48 Jesus' message to Laodicea, as we saw last night, 12:53 is specifically for us. 12:56 We are symbolic... 12:58 Or Laodicea is symbolic, rather, of us as God's last day people. 13:04 Last night we saw that Jesus' message to Laodicea, 13:08 starting in Revelation 3:17, 13:11 had some bad news. 13:13 Every gospel message begins with the bad news. 13:18 Jesus said... 13:31 We saw and we learned together that Jesus' choice of words 13:34 was not random at all, but very intentional. 13:38 He called Laodicea poor, even though they were 13:40 the Wall Street of the Middle East. 13:42 They were a banking capital. 13:44 One of the wealthiest cities. 13:45 And we learned some of how wealthy it was last night, 13:48 seeing that they built aqueducts to plumb in hot water 13:52 from Hierapolis six miles across the Lycus River valley. 13:57 They were filthy rich, so to speak. 14:00 But Jesus said, "You're spiritually poor." 14:03 Then Jesus said that they were blind. 14:07 This was also no coincidence, because Laodicea, 14:10 as we say last night, had a world famous 14:12 medical school there and an ophthalmologist; 14:16 there was an eye doctor. 14:17 And the school also manufactured medication and shipped it 14:20 across the Mediterranean. 14:23 But Jesus said, "Can't you see the irony? 14:25 Although you manufacture medication for the eyes, 14:28 you're spiritually blind." 14:31 We also learned that Laodicea would manufacture 14:35 black garments that were very, very popular. 14:38 Especially with ladies, as they were a glossy black soft wool. 14:43 And they were clothing the then known world 14:45 with these luxurious garments. 14:47 But Jesus said, "You're spiritually naked." 14:52 Friends, Jesus' description of Laodicea was terrible. 14:57 They're destitute, they're empty. 14:59 They had nothing positive said about them 15:02 in the entire message. 15:05 The bad news wasn't that they... 15:08 Well it was bad news, but it wasn't the worst news. 15:10 The worst news was not that they were wretched, miserable, 15:13 poor, blind, or naked. 15:15 The worst news was that they didn't even know it. 15:19 Laodicea thought that they were okay. 15:22 In the midst of their depravity they felt like they were fine 15:25 because of the things that surrounded them. 15:29 You know, it's all too possible for us to dangerously be going 15:33 in the opposite direction as where we need to go 15:36 and think that we're okay. 15:39 I'll never forget, I was 11 years old 15:41 and my parents and I were driving with my best friend, 15:45 Scotty Broeder, down in the city of Fairfield. 15:47 And we were coming home from a shopping trip. 15:49 It was Fairfield in northern California. 15:51 Pastor and Mrs. Lomacang actually pastored 15:54 there for some years. 15:55 But we were driving there, and we pulled out of a 15:57 shopping complex onto the road. 16:00 And as we were slowly pulling out onto the road, 16:02 we noticed someone who was driving the wrong way. 16:06 So we started hearing horns honk, 16:08 and we started honking our horn. 16:09 My dad honked the horn to warn this guy that he was 16:11 going the wrong way. 16:12 And then a few seconds later we saw somebody else 16:15 going the wrong way. 16:17 And then another person going the wrong way. 16:20 And we thought, "Oh, we're going the wrong way. 16:23 We're on the opposite side of the road." 16:26 The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12 that, "There's a way that seems 16:30 right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." 16:33 And praise the Lord this verse wasn't literally 16:35 fulfilled on that day. 16:37 We were fine. 16:39 But friends, it's all too easy to think that the problem 16:42 lies outside of us when really the problem lies with us. 16:47 It's all too possible to be going in the wrong direction 16:51 and think that we're okay. 16:53 And this was the case with the church of Laodicea 16:57 back in the first century. 16:58 And this is the case with us as God's people today. 17:03 It's too easy to think and feel like we're fine 17:06 when we are actually in terrible shape. 17:10 The nature of the disease of sin, as we saw, 17:13 is that we struggle to recognize our condition. 17:17 This is the bad news. 17:19 But the good news is that Jesus, as the heavenly Physician, 17:23 knows no disease that He cannot cure. 17:26 Praise the Lord for that. Amen? 17:28 We can praise God that Christ has never come across 17:32 a disease that He has not been able to cure. 17:36 Friends, He's not just the heavenly Physician, 17:39 but He's the heavenly Pharmacist who fills the prescription. 17:43 And did so at the cost of His own blood. 17:47 Jesus died in order to provide that prescription for us. 17:52 Friends, tonight our message is called, 17:54 The Physician's Prescription. 17:57 The Physician's Prescription. 17:59 We're going to examine together Jesus' solution 18:01 to Laodicea's sindrome. 18:04 Once again, you're going to need your Bibles. 18:06 I see that you brought them here tonight. 18:08 And if you're at home, feel free to go to your shelf, 18:11 unless you have your Bible next to you already. 18:13 We're going to be using our Bibles. 18:15 Many of the verses will be on the screen for the sake of time, 18:18 but not all of them. 18:19 So you may want a notepad and piece of paper to 18:22 jot down verses for reference for future study. 18:25 And definitely go ahead and grab your Bible. 18:29 Now our message tonight is a simple one. 18:33 None the less, a powerful one. 18:36 A message from Jesus is always powerful, amen? 18:40 Revelation 3 starting in verse 17. 18:44 I want to direct your attention to something just as we begin. 18:48 Now let's read verse 17 together, and I want you to 18:51 count with me the adjectives; 18:53 the descriptive words that Jesus gives of Laodicea here. 18:56 Are you ready? 18:57 Alright, here we go. 19:10 Okay, five, right? 19:12 Now we're going to go to Revelation 3:18, 19:15 and I want you to count with me how many solutions 19:19 Jesus offers in verse 18. 19:41 So we see Jesus gives three descriptions, or rather 19:46 three solutions, but five descriptions. 19:50 So the question comes, what is the solution to being 19:53 wretched and miserable? 19:56 Friends, tomorrow night our message is entitled, 19:58 Wretched, Miserable, Victorious. 20:01 And you're not going to want to miss it. 20:03 Be sure to join us tomorrow night to find out what it means 20:06 to be spiritually wretched and miserable, and the solution 20:09 that Jesus offers us. 20:10 In these two words we find a powerful truth. 20:15 And that is that Jesus grants us the victory 20:19 over sin and over death. 20:21 Tonight our focus is going to be on the part of Jesus' 20:25 prescriptive solution found in verse 18. 20:29 Revelation 3:18 20:32 Now can anyone tell me what this is a picture of? 20:37 Anyone? 20:39 That is quartz. 20:42 Quartz is often found around gold ore. 20:45 Quartz is commonly found around gold. 20:49 And this rock actually contains gold in it. 20:52 This is what gold often looks like before it's thrown into 20:55 the furnace and all the dross and the junk is melted away 20:59 and all you have left is pure gold. 21:02 So the question comes, what does gold symbolize 21:06 in Jesus' solution in Revelation 3:18? 21:11 He tells Laodicea, "I counsel you to buy from Me 21:13 gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich..." 21:16 So what does this gold symbolize? 21:19 Well one thing I love about the Bible is that the Bible 21:22 explains itself. 21:24 You know, God doesn't give us some cryptic message 21:27 that we have to have a PhD to understand, 21:30 or need special, you know, specialized training in. 21:37 The Bible is able to be understood by 21:40 the child as well as the scholar. 21:42 And there's enough depth and light there for all of us. 21:46 But 1 Peter 1:6-7 gives us the answer 21:51 of what gold is a symbol of. 21:54 Let's turn there together, 1 Peter 1:6-7. 21:59 Peter is writing here to the Christian believers who are 22:01 being persecuted for their faith. 22:03 And he told them... 22:27 So Peter here says that faith is symbolized by gold. 22:33 Not just any gold; gold that is purified in the fire. 22:37 So friends, here we see the Bible teaches that 22:40 this gold is a symbol of faith. 22:45 You know, as was her practice, Ellen White echoed this biblical 22:49 reality a number of places, but I'd just like to 22:51 share two of them quickly with you. 22:54 From Christ's Object Lessons, page 158, she says... 23:03 Friends, that gold that Jesus wants to offer us 23:06 is faith that is motivated, that is actuated, 23:09 that is moved by love. 23:11 In another place she said this, 23:13 Testimonies to the Church, volume 2, page 36... 23:28 Now why did she say that love takes the precedence of faith? 23:33 It's simple. Because the Bible says so. 23:36 In the famous love chapter by the apostle Paul, 23:39 1 Corinthians 13... 23:42 Let's turn there together, 1 Corinthians 13. 23:44 Paul tells us something that explains to us why 23:50 love takes the precedence of faith. 23:53 1 Corinthians 13 starting in verse 2. 24:18 Friends, love and faith must be combined. 24:21 They cannot be separate from one another. 24:24 You know, Ellen White echoes this, what Paul is saying here. 24:28 He's actually saying that you can die for your faith, 24:31 but if your motivation was not love for God, 24:35 then your death meant nothing. 24:37 This is what Paul was saying. 24:38 She echoes this in, Acts of the Apostles, page 318, 24:42 where she says... 25:04 That is some strong words. 25:06 But it's just what we read in 1 Corinthians 13:2-3. 25:11 Love and faith must be combined. 25:13 And I want to clarify that though we may seem 25:16 to have all the faith in the world, if love is not the 25:19 foundation of our faith, it means nothing. 25:21 Someone can even face a martyr's death 25:23 and that doesn't means that they're guaranteed 25:26 the kingdom of heaven. 25:27 But I want to say, this is in stark contrast to those 25:31 faithful men and women of God who would not deny Christ 25:34 down through the ages of history, especially 25:36 in the Dark Ages, down through time and even today 25:40 in many parts of the world where people are persecuted 25:42 for their faith, but they love God so much 25:45 that they would rather die than deny Him. 25:49 Friends, this is the kind of faith that Jesus 25:51 wants to offer us. 25:53 This is the kind of faith that is symbolized 25:56 by the gold, that pure gold. 25:59 It's faith that is combined with heavenly love. 26:04 These two combined. 26:06 This is the type of faith Christ wants to offer us. 26:10 This is what is symbolized by the gold in 26:11 Revelation 3:18. 26:14 Now Jesus says three things about the gold. 26:17 He says that they are to purchase it, 26:20 that it is to be tried in the fire, 26:23 and last of all He says that it will make those who buy it rich. 26:27 I want to ask you something. 26:30 How is it that Jesus told Laodicea to buy from Him 26:35 gold when He just told them that they're poor? 26:38 It almost sounds like telling somebody with 26:40 broken legs to run. 26:42 How is it that Laodicea being poor can buy something; 26:46 much the more buy gold, which is the standard of money? 26:51 You know, the church is poor. 26:55 The only thing that Laodicea can pay is to pay attention. 27:00 Jesus, in a parallel passage to this, Isaiah 55:1... 27:05 I invite you to turn there with me in your Bibles. 27:08 Isaiah 55:1 27:12 Here Jesus says... 27:30 Friends, Jesus has paid the price to provide us the gold, 27:35 the eye salve, and the spiritual robe that He's offering us here 27:39 as the solution to our dilemma. 27:42 Now notice with me that it doesn't say, "without cost." 27:46 It says without price, but not without cost. 27:50 Though the price has been paid by Christ for us to 27:52 receive this faith and love combined, 27:55 to receive true faith in the Father, 27:58 though the price has been paid to receive the gold of the 28:02 Physician's prescription, it's going to cost us something. 28:06 It's going to cost us everything we have and everything we are. 28:11 We can give ourselves to God. 28:13 And this is what He requires of us. 28:16 Now friends, I want to quickly dispel a deception of Satan. 28:21 The devil is out there convincing the world, 28:25 and I bought into this in my younger years 28:27 when I left the Lord for a couple of years, 28:30 the idea that in order to come to God, 28:33 in order to give your life to Him, 28:34 that you're going to have to give up something. 28:37 You're going to have to surrender 28:38 something that's worthwhile. 28:40 Friends, this is a lie. 28:42 There is no greater life than serving God. 28:46 There is no greater life. 28:47 The Bible tells us, He says, "Delight yourself in the Lord 28:51 and He will give you the desires of your heart." 28:54 Serving God is the greatest adventure. 28:57 We can't really give something up. 28:59 Because God only asks us to give up something 29:02 if He's going to give us something 29:04 that's infinitely better. 29:05 God supplies us with something infinitely better than 29:09 whatever it is that we surrender to draw closer to Him. 29:15 Jesus said that the gold, besides the fact that 29:18 they needed to purchase it, He said that the gold 29:21 would make them rich. 29:24 You know, for my missions class at Andrews University 29:27 at the seminary a couple of months ago, 29:29 we read an article called, "What is Poverty Anyway," 29:32 written by a missiologist. 29:35 And the article was powerful. 29:38 This missiologist was suggesting that poverty, 29:41 although in our minds poverty is typically thought of as 29:43 being a deficit of goods or a deficit of money, 29:47 he was suggesting that poverty is deficit of any kind. 29:51 So if you're afraid, it's a type of poverty because 29:55 you're poor when it comes to peace and joy and assurance. 29:58 Now under this definition, many people in the developing world 30:02 who we would consider poor when it comes to 30:05 material possessions, are wealthy when it comes to 30:09 family, relationships, loving relationships with each other, 30:13 and having a faith in God. 30:16 Yet many of us here in the west may be wealthy when it comes to 30:19 material possessions, but poor when it comes to 30:22 loving relationships, and poor when it comes to faith. 30:26 I'll never forget the first time I went to a developing country. 30:30 I was 17 years old. 30:32 And we went on a mission trip with our high school. 30:35 It was our senior class trip and we went to this country. 30:40 And I'll never forget, we'd been working in the barrios, 30:43 the poor neighborhoods, for some time. 30:46 And by the end of the week, I asked my professor, I said, 30:49 "How is it that these people have virtually nothing, 30:54 but they're so happy?" 30:57 And I'll never forget his words to me. 30:59 He said, "Justin, it's often not until Jesus is all that we have 31:05 that we finally realize He's all we'll ever need." 31:08 Friends, if we have Christ, if we have each other, 31:12 if we have a loving church family, friends, we have 31:15 greater wealth than all of the world's wealth combined. 31:19 And we can be spiritually rich. 31:22 And you know, this is what the world is 31:25 longing and looking for. 31:26 They're looking for a people who are a mixture from 31:30 different socio-economic backgrounds. 31:32 A mixture from different cultures, different ethnicities, 31:35 different ages. 31:37 And all of these people getting along and sharing 31:40 genuine love and selflessness with each other. 31:43 This is what will testify to the world the fact that 31:45 Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Savior. 31:48 Write this down and check it out later, 31:50 John 17:20-21. 31:53 Jesus explains that the strongest argument 31:57 in favor to the world of the fact that God the Father 32:00 had sent Him as the Messiah was the unity of His followers. 32:04 John 13:35, He said, "By this shall all men know that 32:08 you are My disciples; by your love for one another." 32:13 Friends, this is the greatest wealth 32:16 that we could possibly have. 32:17 And when this happens, the world will look and see, and say, 32:22 "How is it that you people are treating each other so lovingly, 32:27 so selflessly? 32:28 How is it? 32:30 This is contrary to human nature. 32:31 It's so different than anything we've ever seen." 32:34 Friends, we'll be able to look at them and say, 32:36 "You know, it's not because of anything good in me. 32:39 But it's because of what God has done and is doing in my life." 32:43 Friends, this will be a testimony to the world 32:46 that Jesus Christ is the Savior of mankind. 32:51 Do you want to be rich in that kind of love? 32:53 Amen. So do I. 32:56 Before we move on to the eye salve, Jesus tells Laodicea 32:59 something important about the gold of faith and love combined. 33:04 He said that it would be tried by fire. 33:08 In order for the gold to go from this to this, 33:13 it needs to go through a fire. 33:16 Now when we hear the words, "go through a fire," 33:19 many of us think of those Hebrew boys in Daniel chapter 3. 33:22 Those boys who decided that they would not bow down 33:26 to this idol that King Nebuchadnezzar had made. 33:29 They would not bow down and break the second commandment 33:31 of God, even in the face of death. 33:34 Because of it, they were thrown in the fiery furnace. 33:38 And we know that God didn't deliver them from the fire. 33:42 He delivered them in the fire. 33:44 Jesus was there with them in the fire. 33:46 And friends, there's a difference. 33:48 God doesn't always deliver us from the trials in our life. 33:52 But He delivers us often through them. 33:55 In that fire, the only thing that was burned up 33:58 were the ropes that bound those three Hebrew boys. 34:02 And it was in that fire that they walked more closely 34:04 with Jesus than they had ever walked before. 34:08 Friends, if we're going through trials and difficulties 34:10 in our lives, God wants us to look to Him in those times. 34:15 He wants us to cling to His righteous right hand 34:19 so that in those experiences our characters can grow 34:22 to be more and more like His. 34:26 You know, maybe you're going through trials as you're 34:28 hearing this message just now. 34:30 Maybe you're going through something in your life that 34:33 is the greatest challenge that you have ever faced. 34:36 And you're wondering, "Where is God? 34:39 Lord, where are You? Why have You deserted me?" 34:42 Friend, God has not left you. 34:45 He is by your side. 34:46 Trust in His word and know that He is with you in the fire. 34:51 He is going through this with you. 34:54 Remember, remember this one thing about the gold. 34:58 In that it is tried by fire. 35:00 The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God 35:05 cannot keep you. 35:06 The will of God never leads us where the grace of God 35:09 cannot keep us. 35:10 If there's a trial, if there's a difficulty 35:12 that we're going through, if we have given our lives 35:14 to Him, we can trust that it has gone through Christ first. 35:18 And that He has only allowed that which He knows 35:21 He can strengthen us to make it through, 35:24 and that will enable us to reflect His loving 35:27 character all the more. 35:30 Friends, God does not allow us to go through the fires 35:33 of adversity to cause needless pain, 35:37 but in order to lead us to look to Him. 35:39 And like that gold, to refine us, to get rid of the junk and 35:44 the habits, the little things that are pulling us down. 35:48 Friends, He wants to refine us even through our difficulties; 35:51 to purify our faith like gold. 35:55 I love the way that William Penn, founder of the state of 35:57 Pennsylvania, said it. 35:59 He said, "No pain, no palm..." 36:09 Friends, whatever we have to go through on this earth, 36:12 there is no price too high to earn heaven, by God's grace. 36:16 Amen? 36:17 Christ has made it possible for us. 36:20 And friends, all we need to do is reach out and 36:22 grasp His hand in faith. 36:24 There is no price too high to spend eternity with our Savior, 36:28 our Redeemer, and our soon coming King. 36:31 Ellen White said it this way in, Last Day Events, page 154... 36:48 Friends, God is saying to us in the words of the beautiful hymn, 36:52 I invite you to sing it with me if you know it. 36:55 When through fiery trials our pathway shall lie, 37:01 My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. 37:07 The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design 37:12 thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine. 37:19 Friends, any adversity, any trial that we go through, 37:23 is nothing but a fire that God is leading us through 37:27 to purify our characters. 37:29 His goal is not to cause any needless pain to any of us, 37:32 but to refine us, to refine our faith that it may be like gold. 37:39 Remember, His will will never lead us where His grace 37:43 cannot keep us. 37:45 The next part of the Physician's prescription 37:47 in Revelation 3:18 where Jesus says to Laodicea 37:52 at the end of verse 18, He says to them, 37:58 "...and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see." 38:02 Now we know that Laodicea was only partially blind. 38:06 You may ask, "Well how do you know that?" 38:08 Because eye salve doesn't help someone who's completely blind. 38:12 Laodicea had partial blindness. 38:15 When I was a boy, my parents and I loved driving up to 38:18 Tahoe in Northern California. 38:20 I learned to ski at a very young age. 38:23 And my father and I would ski together. 38:25 My mom would hang out in the lodge. 38:26 And after a long day on the lifts together, 38:30 at 4:30 we would get back in our car and drive to go back home 38:34 to Angwin on a Sunday afternoon and evening. 38:38 And inevitably, as we were driving the roads, 38:41 little specks of muddy water would splash onto our windshield 38:45 one by one, and we wouldn't recognize it until 38:48 our windshield was clouded over. 38:51 Now of course, we would stop and fuel up on gas. 38:54 And when we would, my dad and I would hop out and 38:57 we would grab paper towels and a squeegee 39:00 and we'd clean off that windshield. 39:02 We'd get back in the car, and we'd all start driving 39:05 and say, "Wow, we didn't realize how dirty that 39:07 windshield was until we cleaned it. 39:09 We can see so much better now." 39:12 Now if any of you have had glasses or contacts 39:16 and you've been fitted for them, you also know what it's like 39:17 to be partially blind. 39:19 You remember when that right lens clicked into place and 39:23 everything just became clear. 39:26 Laodicea was partly blind. 39:32 Now in the Bible, eyesight is representative of understanding. 39:37 Psalm 119:18 is one example of this. 39:40 David says... 39:44 David's prayer was that God would help him 39:46 understand His word. 39:47 And that should be our prayers as well. 39:50 Now this kind of language isn't just limited to the Bible. 39:54 Think about it, we still use it today. 39:56 When you're explaining something to someone and 40:00 they don't understand, and finally they get it, 40:03 they say, "Ah, I see. 40:05 Ah, I see." 40:07 So it's reflected in our language even today. 40:09 Now scientifically speaking, it is light that enables us to see. 40:14 And light is also a symbol of what enables us to understand. 40:18 That's reflected in modern language. 40:20 If someone comes to a slow but sure understanding of something, 40:23 we say, "It dawned on them." 40:25 Right? 40:27 And we see these little caricatures of people 40:29 when they understand something and they realize something, 40:32 there's a light bulb above their head. 40:34 So light is symbolic of understanding 40:41 even in our language today. 40:43 Now we see this as a biblical reality as well. 40:46 Psalm 119:130 40:49 That beautiful chapter, the longest chapter in the Bible. 40:51 And it's about the law of God. 40:54 Psalm 119:130 says... 41:04 So the Bible, as God's word, is the light 41:06 that enables us to see. 41:08 But Laodicea's problem, and our problem as Laodicean Christians, 41:13 is that we are partly blind. 41:16 Our vision is skewed. 41:18 Even with the light that God's Word is, 41:21 we cannot fully understand it unless we receive the 41:25 eye salve that He offers us. 41:28 The eye salve is symbolic of wisdom and grace 41:31 that God gives us to help us understand the Bible. 41:34 And this wisdom and grace is given to us by 41:37 the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. 41:40 Now I want to say something. 41:42 Contrary to a lot of the junk that comes out of Hollywood, 41:46 there is no power in the physical object of the Bible. 41:51 If the devil appeared to you right now, and you had no 41:54 living faith in the Bible, but you pulled it out 41:57 and started reading it hoping that it would cause him to flee, 42:00 he would grab it out of your hand and 42:01 start reading it back to you. 42:03 There is no power in the physical object of the Bible. 42:07 Furthermore, neither is there power in the information 42:11 in the Bible. 42:12 And before you deem me a heretic, let me explain. 42:15 The information in the Bible by itself has no power. 42:20 This is why we see secular university professors 42:23 who are so called Bible scholars who are actually atheists. 42:27 Because they're treating the Bible like a piece of 42:29 human literature rather than the living Word of God. 42:33 Friends, when it comes to the Bible, we need more than 42:36 a knowledge of it. 42:38 We need a living faith in it. 42:41 This is what is a necessity. 42:45 You know, years ago Pastor Joe Crews preached a sermon 42:48 called, Missing Heaven by Eighteen Inches. 42:51 And this brings a mental picture of somebody just, 42:54 you know, barely reaching out on the ground 42:57 sprawled out and just having missed the Pearly Gates 43:00 as they close, right? 43:02 But the reason he titled this sermon this was because 43:04 eighteen inches is the average distance from the human head 43:07 to the human heart. 43:09 Friends, many people will miss heaven by eighteen inches. 43:14 It is not enough to have a head knowledge of God's Word. 43:17 We must have a living faith in it. 43:21 Brothers and sisters, if all we have is a mental 43:24 knowledge of the truth, it's insufficient. 43:28 In fact, it's less than insufficient, 43:30 worse than insufficient. 43:31 It's demonic. 43:34 The Bible says that even the demons believe, and tremble. 43:37 It's not enough to have a knowledge of the Bible. 43:41 We need to have a living faith in God's Word. 43:45 The Bible teaches that information without application 43:49 results in greater condemnation. 43:52 But praise God that biblical information 43:55 with Spirit led application results in life transformation, 44:00 and ultimately in salvation. 44:02 And friends, this is what the eye salve of 44:05 God's Word symbolizes. 44:07 The wisdom and grace to understand the Bible 44:10 and to apply it to our lives. 44:12 And it comes through the third person of the Godhead, 44:15 the Holy Spirit Himself. 44:19 Friends, the gold represents faith and love combined. 44:23 We saw that it's faith that is tried and tested by fire. 44:28 Faith that has a living experience with God 44:31 because it's been through difficulties. 44:34 As we just learned, the eye salve represents our 44:36 understanding and application of Bible truth 44:40 by the Holy Spirit. 44:42 Bible information, point number two, Bible information 44:45 with Spirit led application results in life transformation. 44:50 Friends, do you want your life to be transformed 44:53 by the Word of God? 44:54 Amen. So do I. 44:56 The Holy Spirit can make it a living reality in our lives. 45:00 The last description that Jesus gives is that the church 45:04 is wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. 45:08 Now the answer to the church being wretched and miserable 45:13 we're going to see the solution to tomorrow night 45:16 in our message. 45:17 Tonight we've seen what the gold symbolizes 45:20 and what the eye salve symbolizes. 45:22 So all we have left for tonight is the answer 45:25 to spiritual nakedness. 45:29 Now before we examine the solution, we really have to 45:32 understand the problem. 45:33 What does it mean that we are spiritually naked? 45:37 We find an important detail in verse 18 of Jesus' message. 45:42 And it's actually in part of the solution. 45:44 Another detail about being spiritually naked, 45:46 He says there... 45:56 So what is connected, according to Jesus, 45:58 to Laodicea's nakedness? 46:00 Shame. 46:02 When was the first time that someone was ashamed of 46:05 their nakedness in Scripture? 46:07 Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden. 46:09 We know that Adam and Eve... 46:11 And we don't have time to get into this in depth. 46:13 But study it out later. 46:14 Write down this verse, Psalm 104:2. 46:22 You know, Adam and Eve were clothed with garments of light. 46:26 Because the Bible says in Genesis 1:27 that they were 46:29 made in the image of God. 46:30 Psalm 104:2 says that God clothes Himself 46:33 with light like with a garment. 46:35 Now in the Bible... 46:37 And by the way, if you want further study on that, 46:40 there's an excellent series by Pastor Stephen Bohr called, 46:43 The Robe of Life, that is available through 3ABN, 46:46 as well as Secrets Unsealed. 46:48 And it will go into more depth than we are able to tonight 46:53 on the robe of righteousness that Jesus wants to offer us. 46:56 Now in the Bible, robes represent character. 47:00 What do they represent? 47:02 Character. 47:03 We see this in Isaiah 64:6, among many other places. 47:08 There, the Bible says, "...and all your righteousnesses 47:13 are as filthy rags." 47:18 Here, the Bible tells us that "all our righteousnesses 47:21 are as filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, 47:25 like the wind, have taken us away." 47:28 When it says, "righteousnesses," here, it means our righteous 47:30 deeds, our righteous actions. 47:33 The best things that we can offer, without the help of the 47:36 Holy Spirit, are worthless in the sight of God. 47:39 Robes represent character. 47:42 And we see this here. 47:44 Now when Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their robes of light. 47:46 Genesis 3:7 47:49 Genesis 3:7 tells us this. 47:52 That right when Adam and Eve sinned, 47:55 it says that they knew that they were naked. 48:06 Friends, they literally tried to cover themselves 48:09 with the works of their own hands. 48:13 And when God came to them, we see in verses 9 to 11 48:16 that when God asked Adam what had happened, 48:18 he blamed Eve. 48:19 And he blamed God because he said, "The woman 48:21 which You gave me..." 48:23 Then when He asked Eve, Eve blamed the serpent. 48:25 And also inadvertently blaming God because 48:28 God made the serpent. 48:30 So friends, they tried to justify themselves. 48:35 And you know, I use to read this and think, 48:37 "What is wrong with Adam and Eve? 48:39 Don't they know that God knows everything? 48:42 Who are they trying to fool?" 48:43 Right? 48:45 They were justifying and trying to explain away their sins 48:48 when God knew. 48:50 But friends, don't we do the same thing? 48:52 Don't we try to make excuses for our sins? 48:56 Don't we try at times to excuse our sins 49:00 and maybe the sins of our children or grandchildren 49:03 when we dismiss lying as fibbing or just being imaginative? 49:08 Or maybe by making jokes when we swear, 49:11 and saying, "Pardon my French," 49:13 when we curse and take God's name in vain? 49:16 Friends, when we excuse our sins and make light of our sins, 49:20 we are tying God's hands from forgiving us. 49:25 Because God cannot cure us of something that we don't admit 49:29 we have a problem with. 49:30 God can't take something away if we do not confess 49:34 the sin to Him. 49:36 And when we justify ourselves, we're preventing God from 49:40 justifying us and from forgiving us. 49:43 We're preventing God from transforming us 49:45 and changing our characters. 49:48 You know, the Bible says there that when God came 49:54 to Adam and Eve, He did not do it with a vindictive spirit. 49:59 You know, Adam and Eve stood there physically naked 50:02 and spiritually empty. 50:05 They were condemned to die. 50:07 And this was the result of cutting themselves off 50:10 from God who is the source of life. 50:12 They were facing forever being blotted out of existence. 50:17 Satan no doubt said, "Aha, they're mine." 50:21 But friends, praise the Lord that as soon as there was sin, 50:25 there was a Savior. 50:27 Christ stepped in and He said, "No, I will take their place. 50:31 I will die in man's stead. 50:33 Let Me die in man's place and let them go free." 50:37 Friends, praise the Lord for Jesus. 50:39 There was the first animal sacrifice offered there. 50:44 The first animal sacrifice, it was an innocent lamb. 50:49 And this lamb pointed forward to Jesus Christ, 50:52 the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. 50:55 And you know, that lamb was not only the first creature to die 50:58 on planet earth, it was the first creature to die 51:02 in the universe. 51:04 Think about it. 51:06 This is why Jesus is called the Lamb slain from the 51:09 foundation of the world. 51:11 Because this lamb pointed forward. 51:13 It pointed Adam and Eve's eyes to the future time of hope 51:16 where Jesus the Messiah would come and die in their place. 51:21 Jesus, the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation 51:24 of the world who takes away the sins of the world. 51:29 Praise God for Jesus and the gift that He offers us. 51:35 The Bible says that after this, God saw Adam and Eve 51:40 in their fig leaf garments, a symbol of their 51:42 self justification, and these were not enough. 51:47 God clothed them. 51:50 And they needed it. 51:51 Genesis 3:21 51:54 Genesis 3:21 51:57 After that animal sacrifice, that sacrifice of the lamb 52:01 that pointed forward to Jesus, God covered them 52:05 as only He could. 52:07 Also for Adam and his wife, the Bible says... 52:18 Friends, God gave them a physical symbol 52:20 of a spiritual reality. 52:23 You see, before, they had garments of light which was 52:25 an outward reflection of the inward reality 52:27 that they were pure and walking with God. 52:30 But when those disappeared, only God could solve the problem. 52:33 And He did so with a physical symbol of a spiritual reality 52:38 that Jesus would cover them. 52:41 The transformation of life that could take place 52:44 thanks to Christ and His future sacrifice. 52:47 Friends, the good news is that the blood of Jesus, 52:51 the robe that He offers us doesn't just cover us 52:54 in our sins. 52:55 Can you imagine a child playing outside and getting filthy, 52:58 and them coming home and their parent just meeting them 53:01 at the door and saying, "Oh here, just wear this jacket." 53:04 And covering them up and saying, "Come on into the house." 53:07 Of course not. 53:09 And friends, it's no different with God. 53:11 He doesn't just cover us in the robe of Jesus' righteousness 53:14 and imagine that we're okay and say, "You know, 53:18 I know you're messed up, but for the sake of Jesus 53:21 I'm going to let you into heaven." 53:23 No. 53:24 The blood of Jesus not only offers us pardon for the past, 53:28 but power in the present to be cleansed from our sins, 53:32 to be transformed in character, to be more like Jesus, 53:36 that we can be prepared not just to get into heaven, 53:40 but to fit into heaven. 53:42 This is what God's robe of righteousness does. 53:47 My favorite quote right now outside the Bible is this one. 53:51 From Christ's Object Lessons, page 311 paragraph 4... 54:33 Christ's righteousness does more than just cover us up. 54:37 It transforms us. 54:38 It changes us. 54:40 Jesus took our filthy, blood stained, sinful robes on Himself 54:46 so that He could gives us the pure white robes 54:49 of His righteousness. 54:50 And did you know that He did this spiritually, 54:54 but this was physically illustrated in His life. 54:58 Remember with me at the end of Jesus' life. 55:01 Now first of all, Isaiah 1:18 says... 55:14 Now remember with me, at the end of Jesus' life, what happened? 55:18 Let's go there together, Matthew 27. 55:22 Jesus was surrounded by soldiers who mocked Him, 55:28 who spit in His face and pressed down on His head 55:30 a crown of thorns. 55:32 But before this, the Bible says... 55:46 Friends, this was a symbol, a physical symbol, 55:49 of the spiritual reality that the sins of the world, 55:52 your sins and my sins, were being laid upon 55:54 the shoulders of our Redeemer. 55:57 Friends, Christ took our robe of impurity, our scarlet robe, 56:04 so that He could give us the pure white robe 56:06 of His righteousness. 56:08 Christ hung naked on the cross between heaven and earth 56:12 so that we could be clothed. 56:14 He wore the crown of thorns so that we could 56:18 wear the crown of life. 56:21 Friends, He wants to clothe us with His robe of light. 56:25 Christ paid a debt that He did not owe 56:28 because we owed a debt that we could not pay. 56:32 Praise the Lord that the Physician offers us 56:35 the spiritual prescription with His own life. 56:40 Friends, Christ gave His all for you and me. 56:44 No matter what trial we may be going through, 56:48 no matter what difficulty, Christ wants to fill us with 56:52 His spirit, He wants to walk with us through those trials. 56:56 Friends, do you want to say tonight, "Lord, You gave 56:59 Your all for me. 57:01 I want to give my all for You." 57:04 You want to say, "Lord, I give myself to You tonight." 57:07 Amen. Let's pray together. 57:14 I invite you to join me in song if you know it. 57:17 Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul; 57:24 thank You, Lord, for making me whole. 57:32 Thank You, Lord, for giving to me 57:39 Thou great salvation so rich and free. 57:48 Father, we thank You, we thank You for the sacrifice of Jesus. 57:54 Thank You so much, Lord, that You bore our sins... |
Revised 2015-12-09