Participants: Pr. Richard Pinero
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000019
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00:22 Hello, friends, welcome to another Bible study
00:25 here at 3ABN Worship Center. 00:27 It is Wednesday night 00:28 and wherever you may be tuning in from 00:30 whether another country, another time zone, 00:33 thank you for taking the time to get your Bible studies, 00:36 your Bibles, your friends, your family 00:39 and I will say your pens 00:41 so we can walk through the Word of God together. 00:43 We thank you for tuning in. 00:45 We are gonna be continuing and finalizing hopefully 00:48 our study lesson number 31 and I will tell you 00:51 how to get a copy of that in just a moment. 00:54 We're talking about 00:55 "The Truth about the Body Temple" 00:57 a topic we've discussed over a few weeks 00:59 and tonight we're hoping to cap that off. 01:02 In just a moment I'll tell you 01:03 where to get a copy of the lesson 01:05 that you can follow along with, 01:07 how to download that and even how to send 01:09 your questions and comments, 01:11 so that we can know how to better serve you. 01:13 But before we do anything else, 01:15 let's begin with the word of prayer. 01:17 Let's bow our heads. 01:19 Our loving Father in heaven, 01:20 we thank You for Your goodness to us, 01:21 for Your mercy and Your grace 01:24 which is always abundant and always available. 01:28 And so, Father, we pray tonight that You'll guide us 01:32 and lead us in our study that as we open Your word 01:36 that we will also open our hearts 01:38 that Your spirit may do a work in us 01:41 that will bring us in harmony with Your will. 01:43 We pray in Jesus name, amen. 01:48 Now if you want to follow along in our lesson, 01:49 go to this following website asf.3abn.org 01:55 and download lesson number 31. 01:58 Now somebody may say, I've already done that. 02:00 Well, I added the final page 02:03 and so you should have page one, two and three. 02:06 And tonight we're gonna begin on question number 19, 02:09 that's the website where you can also 02:10 have access to the video library. 02:13 There is a tab for lessons, there is a tab for videos 02:16 and if you've missed any of the lessons in the past, 02:20 go to the videos first, it will tell you 02:22 what lesson to go to and to download 02:25 and invite your friends to walk through all the topics. 02:27 We talk about righteousness by faith, 02:30 how to have a growing relationship in Christ. 02:32 What it means to be a Christian? 02:34 Also we talk about some key topics, the Sabbath, diet, 02:38 what happens when you die, the second coming of Jesus, 02:42 a study on the rapture, 02:44 and tonight we're gonna talk about 02:45 "The Truth about the Body Temple." 02:47 But before we do anything else, 02:48 let's sing our theme song together. 02:50 Our theme song is "Victory in Jesus." 02:53 Let's sing that song together. 03:03 I heard an old, old story 03:07 How the Savior came from glory 03:11 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:14 To save a wretch like me 03:18 I heard about His groaning 03:22 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:26 Then I repented of my sin 03:30 And won the victory 03:33 O victory in Jesus 03:37 My Savior, forever 03:41 He sought me and bought me 03:45 With His redeeming blood 03:48 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:52 And all my love is due Him 03:56 He plunged me to victory 04:00 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:03 I heard about a mansion 04:07 He has built for me in glory 04:11 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:15 Beyond the crystal sea 04:19 About the angels singing 04:22 And the old redemption story 04:26 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:30 That song of victory 04:33 Key change. 04:34 O victory in Jesus 04:37 My Savior, forever 04:41 He sought me and bought me 04:45 With His redeeming blood 04:49 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:53 And all my love is due Him 04:56 He plunged me to victory 05:00 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:04 He plunged me to victory 05:08 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:14 Amen. Amen. 05:16 What a wonderful song, 05:19 "Being plunged to victory beneath the cleansing flood" 05:22 and that is baptism but also the cleansing blood 05:25 and that is redemption through the blood of Jesus. 05:29 We had been talking about and our topic tonight is 05:32 "The Truth about the Body Temple." 05:34 Say that with me "The Truth about the Body Temple." 05:38 Now we have been each week using a particular verse 05:42 in the Bible as our springboard 05:44 and I want to continue doing that 05:46 because this is such a topic 05:47 that if you don't give it the right context, 05:51 it could seem like a car with two wheels. 05:54 You don't understand the road you're traveling on, 05:56 so let's put it back in the context. 05:58 Go with me to 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 6 06:04 and we are going to look at a statement 06:08 made by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. 06:15 You know, when the Bible talks about worship. 06:19 So often people think that worship is just what you sing 06:23 or how you teach or how you preach, 06:28 but when you follow the Bible, 06:30 the Lord broadens that to let us know 06:33 that what we do with our bodies and to our bodies 06:37 is also a symbol of worship to the true God. 06:41 And notice how God has the authority 06:45 to make that kind of a claim on us. 06:47 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, let's look at that together. 06:52 And we read, 06:54 "Or do you not know that your" what? 06:57 "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit 07:01 who is in you, whom you have from God, 07:05 and you are not your own?" 07:07 We don't belong to us. 07:09 And if you think about that, 07:10 the Bible says the Holy Spirit lives in here. 07:14 So if you think about that, that's a very true statement, 07:16 because I'm gonna go to verse 20 in just a moment, 07:20 because when Jesus talks about being redeemed 07:22 and being cleansed, one of the things 07:25 He talks about is the redemption that comes 07:28 and people that are often possess 07:31 in the Bible and the gospel, 07:32 Jesus talks about a person who had been freed from demons. 07:36 From one demon particularly and the house was swept 07:40 and the house was clean, but the house was empty, 07:45 and the demons came back 07:47 examining the person's life to see 07:50 if there were any "openings" 07:53 and they found the house swept, no more sin. 07:56 Clean, no more past record but empty. 08:00 Meaning the person did not invite the Holy Spirit 08:02 to come into his or her life. 08:04 And what happened as a result of that? 08:06 He brought with him seven demons worst than before 08:09 and the Bible says the latter end 08:11 was worse with that individual than the beginning. 08:14 So when the Bible says the Holy Spirit dwells in us 08:17 when you come into a relationship with Jesus, 08:20 that old spirit is gone 08:22 and then the new spirit come in. 08:24 That's why the Bible says the fruit, you know, 08:27 who is living there. 08:28 The fruit of the spirit is what? 08:30 Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 08:34 meekness, patience. 08:35 The fruit show up. 08:37 So you will know who is living there by the fruit. 08:40 By their fruits you will know them. 08:43 So when there are fruit on the inside, 08:47 when the Spirit of God is on the inside, 08:50 the fruit are going to show up on the outside. 08:53 All that, and by the way let me put this together 08:55 because some people think that 08:57 "Well, right now I have the fruit of joy, 09:01 but I don't have the fruit of peace yet." 09:04 But what I want you to know is it all comes in one bite. 09:08 It's all in that single fruit. 09:10 Not the fruits of the spirit but the fruit of the spirit. 09:14 The outward working of the Spirit of God in our lives 09:18 is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 09:19 gentleness, meekness, patience. 09:21 So the spirit has moved in and said, 09:22 "This is my house. 09:25 Now I'm the landlord and what you do with my house, 09:28 I'm concerned about it." 09:30 And notice what he says, here's the reason why. 09:32 He moves in, he moves into the body of temple. 09:35 And then the Bible says in verse 20 of 1 Corinthians 6. 09:38 "For you were bought at a" what? 09:41 "Price, therefore glorify God in your body 09:47 and in your spirit, which are God's." 09:50 Lot of times people want to glorify God in the spirit. 09:53 You've heard lot of Christians that's a terminology nowadays 09:56 they say "I'm in the spirit." 09:57 To be in the spirit also means to be 09:59 concerned about what we do with our bodies. 10:02 So if we are in the spirit, we should be just as concerned 10:05 as to what the spirit want us to do this temple 10:08 that belongs to God, it doesn't belong to us. 10:11 We are bought at a price 10:12 and that price is His redemption. 10:15 What I want to do tonight on laying that foundation, 10:16 I also want to first show you a couple of things 10:20 and then on the screen we have two slides 10:22 that I want to begin with 10:23 because in laying the foundation, 10:25 one of the things we discovered is that 10:27 when the Lord let the children of Israel out of Egypt, 10:30 He told them to talk all the precious metals, 10:33 all the gold, the silver, the precious stones, 10:35 the expensive clothing in Egypt and carry it with them 10:39 because he had a use for those things. 10:41 He was going to build a temple, 10:44 a sanctuary for a supportable one 10:46 and then a permanent one 10:48 when they get to the Promised Land. 10:50 The children in Israel in turn decided to wear it. 10:54 But the Lord gave us in His word some glimpses of 10:58 what the purpose of those precious stones were 11:01 and what the purpose of the gold 11:02 and the silver was, right. 11:05 So look at these two pictures because the Lord talked about 11:08 first of all the high priest garment. 11:09 Here's the first one. 11:11 The high priest notice what he has on 11:12 and this will show up on your screen here. 11:14 He has on the ephod... 11:16 If you have that slide, bring it up for me. 11:18 He has on the ephod which is the garment 11:22 that's outside of his priestly garments 11:27 and then on the ephod he also has the breastplate 11:31 and on the breastplate notice 11:32 he has breastplate precious stones. 11:33 If you can count very quickly how many stones do you see? 11:37 It's actually 14 we just see the 12 11:41 that represent the tribes of the children of Israel 11:43 but then you have white stone, 11:45 then you have white 11:46 and then you have the black stone. 11:47 That's the Urim where God responded 11:50 if there was an issue that could not be settled 11:52 between the judges in Israel, 11:55 God will be asked to be the final verdict. 12:00 And if there was yes, well, if God was approving of it, 12:03 the white stone would radiate. 12:06 If God was not approving of it, 12:07 the dark stone would radiate. 12:09 So you had on the breastplate 12:11 which was what the high priest wore. 12:12 Now let me ask you the question. 12:14 Who is our high priest? What's his name? 12:15 His name is Jesus. 12:17 So the high priest was the only one 12:19 among those who are in Israel that was authorized 12:23 to wear this breastplate with the precious stones. 12:25 He is the one that wore the jewels, 12:28 not the children of Israel. 12:30 God approved him because that high priest 12:32 represented Jesus our high priest. 12:34 One more picture. 12:36 Let's look at something else that came up, the mercy seat. 12:40 The mercy seat was there. 12:43 You have the ephod, you have the breastplate 12:45 and we are gonna see that in just a moment 12:46 because I included those in question number 19 12:49 but matter of fact, let's go to question number 19, 12:52 so that I could more appropriately 12:55 help you understand the beauty of what God had done. 12:59 You also have the mercy seat. 13:01 But let's look at this, 13:03 question number 19 we will begin there. 13:05 All right, here it is. 13:06 "How did the Lord describe 13:10 what had taken place among the Israelites?" 13:15 When they began to, when they began to rebel, 13:18 they rebelled at Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb 13:20 the word is interchangeable. 13:22 And when Moses was on his way back, 13:26 Aaron had led the people into making an idol of gold 13:31 and he got all these precious metals 13:34 from the people that had taken the spoils of the Egyptians. 13:39 But notice how the Lord describes this 13:42 as to what had taken place when Moses was absent 13:47 to receive the commandments from the Lord. 13:48 Exodus 32:7 here's where we find the answer. 13:53 Exodus 32:7, 13:56 you know, I realize when I was calling for the slide 13:59 that was in our last week's presentation. 14:01 So if you didn't see it which chances are you didn't, 14:04 go to our website asf.3abn.org 14:08 and look for the lesson from last week. 14:10 You will see the slides, 14:11 the priestly garment, the ephod, 14:13 the Urim and also the Ark of the Covenant 14:17 that was overlaid with gold. 14:20 That's what the Lord had as far 14:21 as all the articles of furniture in the temple. 14:24 He had ordained that these precious metals 14:26 taken from Egypt would comprise all the articles 14:30 of furniture in the sanctuary. 14:33 Exodus 32:7 14:35 here's what the Lord said had happened among the Israelites. 14:38 He said, "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Go, get down!' 14:43 "Get down from the mountain. 14:45 "'For your people whom you brought 14:47 out of the land of Egypt'" have done what? 14:49 "'Have corrupted themselves.' 14:50 " Notice how God had divorced Himself 14:52 from identifying Himself with the children of Israel. 14:56 When they were obedient He said, "My children." 14:58 When they were disobedient He said, "Your children." 15:01 And today a lot of parents do that. 15:03 When children are behaving they say, 15:05 "Oh, I'm so proud of my child." 15:07 That's what the mother would say. 15:09 When they are misbehaving she said, there is a husband, 15:12 "Go get your kids." 15:13 That's the same thing happens nowadays, 15:15 God identifies with our faithfulness. 15:18 He still loves us 15:20 but He does not love our rebellion, 15:22 and He said to Moses 15:23 "These are the people you brought out of Egypt, 15:25 look at what happened to them. 15:26 They have corrupted themselves." 15:28 They corrupted themselves 15:29 by making for themselves a calf of gold. 15:35 And they had all the jewels, 15:36 they pulled the earrings out of their ears, 15:39 they brought them to Aaron 15:40 and Aaron fashioned these and made this calf 15:43 that they began to worship. 15:45 And they call this calf now their God. 15:47 Now what I like us to do is go to Exodus 32, 15:51 matter of fact you are there. 15:52 We are going to walk through this story in great detail 15:56 to see something widely important. 15:59 This story is I believe one of the most 16:02 prominent stories in scripture that keeps us in context 16:05 and then after that there is as special place 16:08 in Ezekiel, I'm gonna take you 16:10 to show you why today that music 16:15 and adornment are two areas of struggle 16:18 in many Christian churches. 16:21 Music is more like the world 16:24 and the church is dressing more like the world. 16:26 Now I'll show you why 16:27 that that is an issue in many Christian churches today. 16:31 Now in Exodus Chapter 32, we're gonna continue the story. 16:34 First of all the Lord responded in verse 7 16:38 by saying, matter of fact, let's just look 16:41 before we bring the question up on the screen, 16:43 look at verse, 16:46 verse 2 of Exodus Chapter 32, all right. 16:51 This is what Aaron said. 16:53 "And Aaron said to them, 'Break off the golden earrings 16:57 which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, 17:00 and your daughters, and bring them to me.'" 17:03 Just like today women and men wear earrings. 17:08 In some cultures as soon as the baby is born 17:10 they can barely say the first word, 17:13 it's culturally acceptable to pierce their ears. 17:15 I've seen that happen to so many babies. 17:17 I see the baby, "How old?" "Oh, he's four months." 17:21 Got holes in their ears already. 17:23 I'm glad that in my home parents didn't do that to us 17:27 but nowadays as it was in those days 17:30 it is today, men and women were adorned. 17:35 And notice what else, in verse 4, well, verse 3 17:39 and it says "So all the people" of Exodus 32, 17:42 "All the people broke off the golden earrings 17:46 which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron." 17:51 And Aaron made this golden calf 17:53 as you will discover in verse 4, 17:55 "He made it from the gold 17:57 that he received from their hands." 18:00 Now we're gonna go to question number 20 18:02 and see as the story continues to unfold 18:05 what was God's attitude about what had taken place 18:08 among the children of Israel. 18:10 Here it is question number 20. 18:13 "When Israel compelled Aaron 18:15 to make a golden calf what did God say?" 18:20 What did God say? 18:23 Look at verse 8 of Exodus Chapter 32. 18:27 Since you're already there, 18:28 we don't have to wait for you to turn there. 18:30 Exodus 32:8, and the Lord said, 18:36 "They have turned aside" how? 18:40 "Quickly out of the way which I commanded them. 18:45 They have made themselves a molded calf, 18:48 and" they did what? 18:50 "Worshiped it and sacrificed to it, 18:53 and then continuing "and said," 18:56 this is where God really 18:58 saw them in their ultimate rebellion. 18:59 They said, "'This is your god," Aaron said, 19:03 "This is your God, O Israel, 19:05 that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" 19:09 Can you imagine how offensive that was to God? 19:12 He is the one that brought them out 19:13 and the Bible says in Deuteronomy 19:15 with a mighty hand. 19:16 God didn't just bring them out. 19:18 He didn't say, "Hey, let's sneak out of Egypt." 19:20 He left Egypt broke. 19:22 All their wealth was in the possession of the Israelites. 19:24 All their gold, silver there, 19:26 jewels everything was in the possession 19:28 of the Israelites for a particular purpose. 19:30 God gave them remuneration, 19:32 all the money they didn't get as slaves 19:34 because that's how they gauge their wealth 19:37 by the precious things that they had. 19:39 Also God gave them provision to build the sanctuary 19:42 when they got there but the Lord now looks at them 19:45 and they are seen in the full context of their rebellion 19:50 and they are referred to as people that are corrupt 19:54 and now they are pointing to this precious, 19:57 this precious golden calf made of gold 19:59 and the jewels that they wore 20:01 and they are now saying this is your god. 20:03 And I got to make a comment before we go there 20:05 because if you look at what's happening in the world today, 20:10 this world is pressuring us to look less and less like God 20:15 and more and more like world. 20:18 The world is setting the standard 20:19 but when you think of the, 20:21 the direction the Lord gives, He says-- Well, 20:24 let's go to Romans Chapter 2. 20:25 Don't lose, don't lose this 20:27 because we are gonna answer the question. 20:28 By the way since we did read the text, 20:31 what you want to write down. 20:32 "When Israel compelled Aaron 20:34 to make the golden calf what did God say?" 20:37 God said, they have turned out of the way. 20:40 That's the answer. 20:42 They have turned out of the way. 20:44 It's amazing that that terminology is used 20:46 because Christians in the New Testament will call, 20:49 they were following the way. 20:51 And then Jesus said, "I'm the way." 20:54 We had a wonderful worship the other day and I'm gonna-- 20:57 Pastor CA did a really good job 20:59 in talking about that very terminology. 21:02 He said, "Jesus is the way." 21:04 Early Christians will call the way. 21:07 And when the Adventist church is being developed, 21:09 they were considering the title the way. 21:12 He said, Jesus is the way 21:14 the Christian is in following Jesus, 21:17 so they are following in the way. 21:19 But he made a very amazing comparison. 21:20 He said, "If you are not in the way following Jesus, 21:24 you are in the way." 21:26 So get out of the way or get in the way, 21:29 that's the whole point he made. 21:31 If you're following Jesus, you're going in the right way, 21:34 but if you are not following Jesus, 21:36 you're just in the way. 21:38 Okay, where did I said to go? 21:40 Romans 12. Romans 12:1, 2. 21:45 Here we are Romans 12, let's look at this. 21:51 We have to. 21:53 And let me make this point, we have to consciously fight 21:55 against the trends of the world. 21:58 We have to fight against the trend of the world. 22:01 We have to swim upstream 22:03 as the world is pushing us downstream. 22:05 You know, what's the ultimate experience of those 22:08 who are going downstream? 22:10 What's the ultimate experience? 22:12 Just probably just in my own head, 22:14 they go over the waterfall. 22:17 When the water starts speeding up, 22:19 then you're getting to the waterfall. 22:21 You got to swim upstream 22:22 because the world has taken us downstream 22:24 and we're heading to some point 22:26 where we're gonna start going further and further down. 22:28 That's why it's called downstream. 22:31 Anytime you're moving away from the Lord, 22:33 you're going down, you never go up. 22:36 Look at Romans 12, 22:38 these two verses are so powerful 22:40 as it relates to the way that Christian should view him 22:43 or herself as it comes 22:46 as it pertains to worshiping God. 22:48 The Bible says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, 22:50 by the mercies of God," that's him pleading 22:54 "that you present your" what? 22:56 "Bodies a living sacrifice," how should our bodies be? 23:01 "Holy, acceptable to God, 23:03 which is your reasonable service." 23:05 The principles there, they cover so many things. 23:09 If your body is holy, 23:10 you don't smoke, you don't drink. 23:12 You don't get involved in promiscuous sexual activity. 23:14 You don't involved in homosexual activity. 23:16 You don't get involved in anything 23:18 that corrupts the body, unclean foods, 23:21 anything that corrupts the body, 23:23 you protect that 23:26 because your body should be as a Christian a living sacrifice, 23:30 dedicated to the worship of God. 23:33 And how does that happen? 23:34 You got to think differently. 23:36 Look at verse 2, 23:37 "And do not be conformed to this world, 23:39 but be transformed by the" what? 23:41 "Renewing of your mind." 23:43 You can't think like the billboards 23:45 or like the commercials or like the fashion designers. 23:48 You got to think differently. 23:50 You got to renew your mind. 23:51 And let me tell you, 23:52 there's no better way to renew your mind 23:54 than study God's word. 23:55 When you renew your mind, 23:57 then you can be a representative of, 23:59 what is that good and acceptable 24:02 and perfect will of God. 24:05 One of the greatest compliments my wife and I received, 24:08 we were in California at the time 24:11 and we drove from Northern California, 24:13 we went to Southern California 24:15 to visit with some friends for Thanksgiving 24:17 and we got lost. 24:19 We didn't have a GPS at the time, 24:20 I don't even think they were out yet. 24:22 So we stopped at a Marie Callender's 24:25 to ask directions and there was a gentleman 24:28 coming out of the Marie Callender's 24:29 as we were going in. 24:31 This is before 3ABN, this is after Heritage Singers. 24:34 So there was no massive television coverage. 24:37 But the guy said to us as he was walking up to us, 24:39 he said, are you guys Adventist? 24:43 I said, "How do you know?" He said, "You look like it." 24:46 And I thought what a compliment that you can live your life 24:49 that people recognize that you are not citizens of the-- 24:53 You are not being molded by the society. 24:56 You are not being pushed into the trends 24:58 that the world around you are really pushing. 25:01 When you go to the malls, you look at the billboards, 25:03 you look at the store windows, 25:05 when you look at the commercials, 25:07 when you listen to the things that the world is pushing, 25:09 it pushes us away further and further. 25:11 That's why you got to go to God's word 25:13 to renew your mind. 25:15 You ever renewed your subscription 25:17 or renewed your license. 25:19 You got to renew your mind. 25:20 Amen. Renew your mind. 25:22 Keep that thing fresh by studying God's word. 25:25 It says, "They have turned aside quickly 25:28 and they have said that this is your God." 25:30 Now let's go back to question number 21. 25:33 Question number 21. 25:36 Lot of times when people rebel and do something opposite 25:39 to what God has instructed them to do, 25:42 they find a way to try to justify it. 25:44 Question number 21 "How did Aaron attempt 25:49 to justify his decision to make a god of gold?" 25:53 "How did Aaron attempt to justify his decision 25:57 to make a god of gold?" 25:59 Let's continue in Exodus Chapter 32 26:01 and let's look together at verse 23 and 24. 26:05 Let me go way back there. 26:06 There I am. 26:08 Exodus 32 verse, not verse 23, 26:11 yeah, verse 23 and 24. 26:12 That's right. Turn the page. 26:13 Okay. 26:15 Because the story is quite a long story. 26:17 All right, here it is and the Bible says, 26:20 "For they said to me," 26:22 notice right away he puts the blame on the people. 26:25 Nobody can force you to do anything. 26:27 Aaron said, "They said to me, 26:30 'Make us gods that shall go before us, 26:34 as for this Moses, 26:36 the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, 26:41 we do not know what has become of him.'" 26:45 In other words they say, we're not waiting on Moses, 26:47 we want us a God. 26:48 How crazy it is and the verse continues and it says 26:53 "And I said to them, 26:55 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' 26:59 So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, 27:03 and this calf came out." 27:07 What a lie? 27:09 Are you talking about evasive? 27:11 You're talking about shifting the blame. 27:14 How many times have we thrown 27:16 things in the fire in perfect construct? 27:19 This is almost like the theory of evolution. 27:22 Just throw it in there 27:24 and something perfectly designed 27:25 and symmetrical will come out. 27:27 He blamed the people, they said and then he said, 27:31 "They said it and the fire did it." 27:34 Lord, if you didn't create fire, 27:35 this calf would never have shown up. 27:37 It's the fire that you created that made this thing. 27:40 Notice how he didn't take any blame at all. 27:44 What a terrible thing. 27:45 So let's just we were walking through this together 27:47 and the reason I'm walking through 27:48 this is because what I want you to see is 27:50 when people are in rebellion, 27:52 they will find anyone to blame and anything else to blame 27:55 other than the actions that they take. 27:58 So question number 21, 27:59 "How did Aaron attempt to justify his decision 28:01 to make a god of gold?" 28:03 He said the people said it and the fire did it. 28:05 That's the answer. 28:07 The people said it, the fire did it. 28:09 I had nothing to do with this. 28:11 I was an innocent bystander. 28:13 I just said to them, "Give it to me. 28:16 I threw it in the fire and my attempt 28:18 was to burn it up and out comes the golden calf." 28:22 What a ridiculous excuse for rebellion. 28:26 It's amazing how it happens. 28:28 Let's go to number 22. Number 22. 28:31 All right, here we are. 28:34 "What instruction did Moses give the Israelites 28:38 to correct their rebellion?" 28:40 "What instruction did Moses give to the Israelites 28:43 to correct their rebellion?" 28:45 You know, God doesn't just see us in a rebellion, 28:47 God wants that rebellion to be corrected. 28:49 That's the beauty of serving the Lord. 28:51 He is not satisfied to see His children 28:53 going in the wrong direction. 28:54 He wants to give them the right directions. 28:56 So God speaks to Moses now and tells him to do something 28:59 to give them direction, so they could understand clearly 29:02 where they need to be going, all right. 29:06 Let's look at verse 26, verse 26 here it is. 29:13 Verse 26 is correct that you have 29:15 but I didn't change it on my screen but here it is. 29:18 And it says, verse 26 here we are. 29:23 "Then Moses stood 29:29 in the entrance of the camp, and said," 29:33 what did he say? Who is on the Lord side? 29:38 "Whoever is on the Lord's side come to me!' 29:42 " Come to me. 29:43 "Whoever is on the Lord's side come to me!' 29:49 And all the sons of Levi 29:52 gathered themselves together to him." 29:56 The actual reference that I need 29:58 to correct on the next, 29:59 on the next presentation is, it's Exodus 32:26. 30:04 So he said to them, "Come to me." 30:07 Now notice this, this is an amazing concept. 30:10 When the children of Israel were in rebellion 30:12 they were not on the Lord side. 30:15 When they dressed like the Egyptians, 30:17 they were not on the Lord side. 30:18 There was a song that came out years ago. 30:21 Oh, I forget the years it came out. 30:23 Maybe the '90s or maybe the middle '80 30:26 it was called, "Walk like an Egyptian." 30:28 Remember that song? 30:30 "Walk like an Egyptian" and it was a sad thing. 30:34 So the world is saying walk like an Egyptian 30:37 the Lord is saying "No, I want you to be on my side." 30:41 So they were called to take a stand 30:44 on the side of the Lord. 30:46 And who responded? 30:47 The Levi's, the children of Levi, the sons of Levi 30:51 and why did they respond? 30:53 Because they were the priests. 30:56 They were the ministers among the children of Israel. 31:00 You know, what that says today 31:03 is that ministers can direct properly 31:07 if the ministers are on the Lord side. 31:09 Amen to that. 31:10 The ministers have to be on the Lord side. 31:12 If the ministers are on the Lord side, 31:14 they can direct the children of God. 31:17 But if the minister and by the way Aaron 31:19 was not among that ministry. 31:21 He was the brother of Moses. 31:24 He led them in rebellion 31:25 but the priest took their stand on the Lord's side. 31:28 So let put the answer down to number 20-- 31:32 what's that number 22 what's that? 31:34 What instruction did they give to correct that? 31:36 We've got to stand on the Lord's side. 31:39 In the world today you got to live a life 31:41 that lets the world know Dan 31:43 that you are on the Lord's side. 31:45 Isn't that right? 31:46 Your life has to be a testimony 31:48 that you are on the Lord's side. 31:51 How you live, how you-- everything you do. 31:55 1 Corinthians 10:31 31:57 "Whether you're there for eat or drink, 31:59 or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 32:03 The world is in need of seeing people 32:05 that are on the Lord's side. 32:07 And more and more if you mention 32:09 the Lord today in society 32:12 people that are living in open rebellion 32:14 will stand up against you, 32:16 will force the government to fire you 32:19 because you don't agree with their low standards. 32:21 That's what happening in our world today. 32:23 But the Christian ought not be moved 32:28 by that kind of rebellion. 32:29 If the world wants to go all against us, 32:32 it's not a surprise the Lord said, 32:35 "They didn't like me 32:37 and they are not going to like you." 32:38 If they crucified the green tree 32:41 which is Jesus, 32:43 what are they going to do to the tree 32:44 that does not bear fruit? 32:45 That's us. 32:47 He is the vine, we're simply the branches. 32:49 Let's go to number 23, number 23. 32:52 Here we are. "How did Moses classify..." 32:59 This is a huge question. 33:00 "How did Moses classify 33:03 the nature of Israel's rebellion 33:07 at Mount Horeb?" 33:08 How did he classify that? 33:11 Let's look now at verse 31. 33:15 How did he classify that? 33:18 It's amazing how he had this conversation 33:22 between him and the Lord. 33:23 Not that he needed to tell God anything 33:25 because God knew but how did Moses classify that? 33:29 And the reason why this is important is 33:31 because if the person that is called to lead 33:34 cannot see that the people are in rebellion, 33:37 then he is not a qualified leader. 33:39 There are many leaders that are called 33:41 that they see the rebellion, they say nothing about it. 33:45 They foster it but Moses was not that kind of man. 33:49 Notice what he said in verse 31 here it is. 33:54 "Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, 33:57 'Oh, these people have committed" what? 34:02 "A great sin, and have made for themselves 34:06 a god of gold!" 34:10 They have committed a great sin 34:13 and have made for themselves a god of gold. 34:16 Now I go back a little bit in the story 34:19 because today in many, 34:22 I remember when I was in California, 34:25 I was preaching a sermon about 34:26 the dedication of Solomon's Temple. 34:29 It's a beautiful story. 34:30 And they needed extra money to finish the temple 34:34 and the call was made to the children of Israel. 34:39 God has made you, God has blessed you, 34:43 God has furnished everything you need. 34:46 And what the people did, everything that they possessed 34:50 and this is an amazing thing. 34:51 Everything that they possessed of all their wealth, 34:54 they came and brought it and dedicated it 34:56 and that's how the temple was completed. 34:59 They brought their gold, their silver, 35:01 their precious stones, they brought everything. 35:03 I was preaching that sermon once at one of my churches 35:06 in California and the next Sabbath 35:08 I didn't even asked the congregation to do this. 35:10 The next Sabbath I was blown away. 35:13 I saw at the altar 35:15 because we were finishing our building fund. 35:18 I saw at the altar one of the elders 35:20 that placed a box there I said "What's that?" 35:21 He said, "Pastor, people are bringing all kinds of stuff. 35:25 They have brought jewelry to church today. 35:27 Not to wear but to dedicate it to the Lord's work. 35:30 Amen. 35:31 And a lot of it was costume jewelry, 35:34 they didn't get much out of it 35:36 but they decided, you know what, we cannot do that. 35:38 These things are needed for the work of the Lord 35:42 to pay off the mortgage that the church still had 35:47 and God got a hold of that church's heart 35:49 and they finished the mortgage about a year or so earlier 35:53 than it was actually due and they raised that money 35:56 within like the matter of four months 35:58 to pay off the church's mortgage. 36:00 Their hearts were in the right place. 36:02 That's why it was important to see 36:04 what had happened among the children of Israel. 36:06 So the answer there is you wrote it down in number 23 36:10 he classified it. 36:12 It was a great sin. 36:13 When gold is now looked up as your God. 36:17 When gold is now looked as your God 36:19 and you put that before the God you worship, 36:21 then you've committed a great sin. 36:23 And I will say today if we pass the jewelry bucket 36:27 in many of our churches today, 36:28 we'll find that there is probably 36:30 just as much in the churches today 36:32 as it was among the children of Israel 36:34 at Mount Horeb. 36:35 Look at number 24. Number 24. 36:38 "What was God's reaction to the Israelites 36:41 for making a god of gold?" 36:44 I put it god of god but a god of gold. 36:46 My typo there. 36:48 Let's look at number 24 and the answer is here in Exodus 33:3. 36:54 Exodus 33:3, 36:58 it's amazing how God responded. 37:03 How God responded. Notice what He says. 37:05 He gives them instruction 37:06 how to continue in their journey 37:07 but His response is amazing. 37:09 The Lord said, "Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, 37:16 for I will not go up in your midst..." 37:19 Listen to what God said, "Lest I consume you on the way..." 37:24 And what did He say about the Israelites? 37:26 "For you are a..." what? 37:28 "Stiff-necked people." 37:31 My mother would say, hardheaded 37:34 or they will say you don't listen. 37:37 He said, "You don't listen and I want to tell you today, 37:41 "That is a condition among the people of God even to this day. 37:45 Stiff hard you can't move them. 37:49 Stubborn, He said, you're stubborn. 37:51 I've given you instruction what not to do. 37:53 And when we studied the lesson as our last sitting, 37:56 we discovered God said, do not make a god of gold. 38:01 He told them what not to do, He also told them what to do. 38:04 He said, "Do not make for yourself the god of gold." 38:07 They did exactly what God told them not to do. 38:10 And he said, if I go with you, if I travel with you 38:13 I might consume You along the way. 38:16 Well, did He consumed them along the way? 38:18 If you read 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 38:20 there was an instance where along the journey 38:22 23,000 died in one day. 38:26 In one day because of their rebellion. 38:29 Because of their immorality that 23,000 died in one day. 38:34 When God saw them in rebellion, 38:35 He removed the protection and what happened, 38:38 the serpents and scorpions had their way. 38:42 What a wilderness it was, the Lord protected them 38:44 but when they entered rebellion He said, 38:47 "You know what, I can't travel with you. 38:48 I might just get rid of you in the wilderness. 38:50 And the one reason why God did not rid them, 38:54 rid the wilderness of the Israelites 38:56 is because Moses intervened. 38:58 Moses pleaded with God to be merciful to His children. 39:03 Not that Moses was more merciful than God 39:05 but Moses became in that context 39:08 a representation of Christ. 39:11 Jesus pleads in our behalf 39:13 that our salvation may remain intact, 39:15 that our relationship with the Lord may remain intact. 39:19 So number 24, what was the answer? 39:22 How did Moses-- well, we did number 24, 39:24 what was God's reaction? 39:25 He said, I won't travel with you. 39:27 What a travesty to travel in a journey 39:30 and not have God's presence with you. 39:32 Now let's go to question number 25. 39:35 We're moving right along. 39:38 "What was Israel's response to God's displeasure?" 39:42 "What was Israel's response to God's displeasure?" 39:47 Wow, this is amazing one. This is an amazing one. 39:52 Verse 4, verse 4 here it is. Wow. 39:58 And the Bible says, and when the people heard this bad news, 40:03 "When the people heard this bad news, they mourned..." 40:09 And look at the rest of the text. 40:11 "And no one put on his ornaments." 40:16 And no one put on his ornaments. 40:19 Did you get that? No one put on his ornaments. 40:22 Another word for ornaments there in Hebrew is jewelry. 40:25 No one, when they heard how upset it made God, 40:29 no one put on his ornaments. 40:33 They said, you put on, I'm not putting on, you put on, 40:36 I'm not putting that on. 40:37 You put on, I'm not putting that. 40:39 No one put it on. 40:41 So if you didn't put it on, what did you do? 40:43 Let's go to the next question. 40:45 No one put on his ornaments. 40:48 Now question number 26. Question number 26, here it is. 40:55 "How specific was God about 40:58 what He requires of His children?" 41:00 "How specific was God about 41:03 what He requires of His children?" 41:05 And by the way that sounds like a past tense 41:07 with the present tense. 41:08 But God is still as specific today 41:10 because God doesn't change. 41:11 Amen to that. He doesn't change. 41:13 Let's go to Exodus 33:5, 6, all right. 41:18 "How specific is God about 41:20 what He requires of His children?" 41:23 And we're gonna look at verse 5 and 6 and here is what it says. 41:26 "For the Lord had said to Moses, 41:31 ''Say to the children of Israel, 41:33 'You are a...'" what? 41:34 "Stiff-necked people. 41:36 I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you." 41:43 Wow, God's mercy. 41:46 And then look at what He said and this is what the Lord need 41:48 to say to a lot of our churches today. 41:50 Look at the very next verse. 41:51 "Now therefore, take off your ornaments, 41:57 that I may know what to do to you." 41:59 'So the children of Israel..." 42:02 What's the next word? 42:03 "Stripped themselves of their ornaments 42:06 by Mount Horeb." 42:08 This is powerful. They didn't take one thing off. 42:10 When you strip, that means there is nothing left. 42:14 Like an elephant can strip a tree of all of his fruit. 42:18 A giraffe can strip a tree of all of its leaves. 42:21 They stripped themselves of their ornaments 42:24 because they knew that 42:25 God had not even the prerogative 42:30 to know what to do. 42:31 What am I gonna do with them? 42:32 Now you will find that in just a moment 42:34 why God said that, 42:35 so that I can know what to do with you. 42:37 Let me give you an example. 42:39 It's like a person that plays for the New York Knicks 42:44 showing up at a basketball game 42:45 with the Los Angeles Lakers shirt on. 42:48 And the coach says, "Wait a minute. 42:51 I don't even know what to do with you. 42:52 You're a New York Knicks basketball players 42:55 but you have on the Lakers' uniform, 42:58 would you please take that off, 43:00 so that I can know what to do with you?" 43:02 When your garment conflicts with your identity, 43:09 the Lord says you got to take it off. 43:10 Now where do we get that in the Bible as an example? 43:13 In the Book of Genesis when Eve put on an apron 43:18 that God let her keep her apron on. 43:20 Yes or no. No. 43:21 The Lord cover them with skin of an-- 43:25 He killed an animal and cover them 43:27 with the skin of the animal. 43:28 When they sinned, she worn an apron. 43:31 Nowadays sometimes you go to church 43:33 look like some people have on aprons. 43:37 There needs to be a reformation amongst the way we dress 43:40 when we come to worship the Lord. 43:42 Among the way we dress period 43:44 not just when we come to worship the Lord. 43:46 So the Lord once again, Adam and Eve said 43:49 they hid themselves because they were naked. 43:52 Satan had stripped them off their righteousness. 43:54 Now the Lord stripped the children of Israel 43:56 of their rebellion. 43:58 Take it off that I may know what to do with you 44:01 and when they heard that 44:02 they took all their ornaments off. 44:04 Today many of us need to humble ourselves before the Lord 44:07 and also remove the ornaments that we have. 44:09 And we will find that in just a moment. 44:11 I'm holding that out as my, as my key text. 44:15 Question number 27, number 27 We're making a good, 44:18 we're making a good track. 44:20 Number 27, here's the question. 44:22 What condition, this is a beautiful verse. 44:26 "What condition led the Israelites 44:30 to remove the Egyptian ornaments?" 44:33 "What condition led the Israelites 44:36 to remove the Egyptian ornaments?" 44:37 Now, we're gonna go to Exodus 35:22. 44:42 Now when you get there, this is powerful, 44:44 what you're going to see when people get upset 44:49 the Lord does not want us to respond because he is upset. 44:55 There needs to be a certain spirit about those 44:57 who want to comply with God's, God's requirement. 45:00 When this spirit is there, then the blessing follows. 45:04 That's why the Lord and let's make another example, 45:06 another application here. 45:08 That's why when the Lord talks about giving an offering, 45:10 Paul says, don't give grudgingly 45:12 and don't give out of necessity 45:14 for God loves what kind of a giver? 45:15 A cheerful giver. 45:18 The condition of the heart has everything to do 45:21 with complying to God's requirements. 45:24 If the heart is not changed, don't do it. 45:27 Okay, you want my tithe and offering, here it is. 45:31 God said, keep it. 45:32 Imagine that your parents say, 45:35 "Go get me some, go get me a loaf of bread 45:37 and the kid comes home and throws the bread on there. 45:39 You wanted bread, here it is." 45:41 Mother would say, 45:42 "You better take that bread back to the store. 45:44 I'm not touching that bread." 45:45 And you're unlocked down for the next two weeks. 45:48 The condition of the heart. 45:50 God was looking for more than just compliance. 45:53 He was looking for a change of heart. 45:55 Amen. 45:56 I believe that those who want to be 45:58 in harmony with God's will who want to be in harmony 46:00 with God's divine plan have to have a changed heart. 46:03 Look at this verse Exodus 35:22. 46:06 This is a beautiful verse 46:08 and this is what's gonna take today for those of us 46:11 who are following the pattern of the world 46:13 to now follow the instructions of the Lord. 46:15 Here is the verse. 46:17 "They came, both men and women, as many as had..." 46:23 Say those next two words together. 46:25 "A willing heart..." 46:27 And what did they do? 46:29 "And they brought earrings and nose rings..." 46:34 Sound like today. 46:35 "Rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, 46:41 that is, every man who made 46:44 an offering of gold to the Lord." 46:47 That's what happens, when the heart is willing, 46:50 when the heart is willing whatever you have, 46:54 they brought the earrings, the nose rings, the rings, 46:58 the necklaces, all jewels of gold 47:01 and they gave it to the Lord. 47:03 They gave it to the Lord because they said, "Lord, 47:07 this belongs to You. 47:09 I know you gave it to us when we left Egypt, 47:11 now I understand why you gave it to us." 47:13 If you can compare that today, 47:16 all of our wealth belongs to the Lord. 47:19 And when we spend that unwisely in ornamentation, 47:23 in jewelry we should follow the same example 47:26 and have a willing heart. 47:28 Now, why is a willing heart so widely important? 47:30 Let me see. 47:32 I'll leave it there because I want to get some. 47:34 The willing heart, if you just write this text down, 47:36 Isaiah 1:18-22, Isaiah 1:18-22 where the Lord expresses. 47:42 He says, "If you are willing and obedient, 47:45 you will eat the good of the land, 47:47 but if you refuse and rebel, 47:49 you will be devoured by the sword." 47:52 When the heart is willing, the Lord accepts what you have. 47:56 When the heart is willing, the Lord accepts what you have. 47:58 A great change could be made in the life 48:00 when the heart is willing first and foremost. 48:03 Number 28, number 28. I think we're gonna make it. 48:08 Here we are. 48:10 "Among what nation or people 48:12 were earrings known to be worn?" 48:15 If the Israelites were not the ones that wear it 48:17 who were the nations? 48:19 We not only know that it was not only the Egyptians, 48:22 were not only the Babylonians but in specifics 48:24 the Lord brings us out in Judges Chapter 8. 48:28 Now this is Gideon 48:29 when they went to battle against the nation 48:31 that they definitely did win the battle against. 48:35 The Lord gave particular instruction, 48:37 particular instruction about all those men that Gideon 48:41 and his army had defeated in the battle, all right. 48:44 Here it is Judges 8:24 and the Bible says, 48:47 "Then Gideon said to them," that is to his men 48:52 "'I would like to make a request of you, 48:56 that each of you would give me the..." What? 48:59 "The earrings from his plunder.'" 49:03 Now look at the next verse. The rest of the verse. 49:06 "For they had golden earrings, 49:08 because they were Ishmaelites." 49:13 Notice the difference. 49:15 Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac and Ishmael. 49:19 Jacob and Esau. You had Cain and Abel. 49:22 The faithful, the rebellious. 49:24 Esau and Jacob. Isaac and Ishmael. 49:28 The rebellion one was, 49:30 the rebellious one was always living a life 49:33 out of harmony with God. 49:36 Cain kills Abel. 49:38 Jacob and Esau, 49:39 two brothers that were in conflict 49:41 even still today. 49:43 Isaac and Ishmael, two brothers in conflict. 49:46 And today you see the Ishmaelites were the ones 49:48 that had gone a different path 49:50 than that of the path that God had established for them. 49:54 And they were the ones 49:55 that were wearing the golden earrings, 49:57 not the Israelites. 49:59 When the Israelites wore, 50:00 we looked that up a couple of weeks ago 50:02 in Hosea 2:13 50:04 the Lord clearly defined that in Hosea 2:13 50:07 that they went after their lovers 50:08 and they had forgotten the Lord. 50:11 That's what's happening in the world today 50:13 when the church begins to follow a different God, 50:16 they go after the gods that they love. 50:19 The appearance externally does indicate that. 50:22 That's what happened with the children of Israel. 50:24 Let's go to number 29. It's happening today. 50:28 You can see who is in charge, who is molding, who is leading, 50:32 who is influencing 50:33 by the way that the Christian represents himself or herself. 50:38 Question number 29, number 29 and here it is. 50:44 "What New Testament principle 50:47 governs our stewardship of God's temple?" 50:51 When you get a principle the principle never dies. 50:54 The principle to not smoking, not drinking, 50:57 to taking care of our body is "thou shall not kill." 51:02 That means even yourself. 51:03 Don't kill the very thing that God has given you 51:06 which is the greatest gift, your body, your mind. 51:09 Some people say, 51:11 it doesn't really matter, I'm gonna get another one. 51:12 That philosophy only goes as far as the hospital 51:15 because when you are on the hospital bed, 51:17 you will do anything you can 51:19 to sustain the way that their body 51:21 could have worked had it been honored. 51:23 "What New Testament principle 51:26 governs our stewardship of God's temple?" 51:28 And just in case you don't understand 51:29 stewardship means, he owns it. 51:31 So what do we do 51:33 because we recognize that God is the owner of our body? 51:35 Here's the text, 2 Corinthians 6:16. 51:39 2 Corinthians 6:16, here it is. 51:42 Paul once again. 51:44 "And what agreement has the temple of God with..." 51:48 What? "Idols? 51:50 For you are the temple of the living God. 51:56 As God has said..." 51:57 What that did He say to us? Here it is. 52:00 "I will dwell..." Where? 52:01 "In them and walk..." Where? 52:04 "Among them. 52:06 I will be their God, and they shall be..." What? 52:09 "My people." This is huge. 52:12 In this one text two powerful scriptures 52:16 we read earlier are comprised here. 52:19 First of all he said I will dwell in them. 52:21 Where does the Holy Spirit dwell, tell me? 52:23 In us. 52:25 He dwells in us because we are God's temple. 52:28 What did the Lord refuse to do 52:30 when the children of Israel were in rebellion? 52:33 He refused to walk among them. Isn't that amazing? 52:38 If the Spirit of God is dwelling in us, 52:40 then God is with us. 52:42 If God is walking amongst us, then God is with us. 52:45 When you live a life in harmony, 52:47 when you recognize 52:48 that your body is the temple of the Lord 52:51 and that this temple should be free from idols of all kinds 52:54 God said, "Hey, I'll live there and I'll walk there. 52:59 My Spirit will abide in there 53:01 and I will surely walk with you." 53:04 That's why the Lord chose not to walk with the Israelites 53:07 because they chose not to walk in the path 53:09 that He outlined before them. 53:11 And earlier in the journey 53:12 He said to them, I place before you two roles, 53:14 life and blessings, death and cursing. 53:16 And then He said, chose life but they chose the things 53:21 that they had been influenced by 53:24 for the 400 years of generation. 53:26 And, you know, I tell you 400 years is a long time. 53:28 How many family generations is that? 53:30 That's a long time. 53:31 If everybody lived 53:32 for 100 years that's four generations. 53:34 We know that they didn't live that long. 53:36 By that time they started living shorter lives. 53:39 There's lot of generations. 53:41 So here you are, 53:42 you got the early, early generations 53:44 that came into Egypt 53:45 and so your parents grew up in Egypt 53:47 and learned the ways of Egypt. 53:49 And so they had children that took on the ways of Egypt 53:53 and then they had children that took on the ways of Egypt 53:56 and they had children and children that took 53:58 and so you have generations of generations 54:00 and when you begin to go back, I've done this as a pastor. 54:04 I've often looked at people's lives and I say, 54:06 "Somewhere along the way their parents made the decision 54:11 that has resulted in the way that their children are. 54:14 Somewhere along the way 54:17 the decision was made by somebody prior to that." 54:20 In many cases you can see the influence of the past 54:23 has produced the product of the present. 54:25 But now let's finish, go to number 30 now. 54:28 Number 30, okay. Number 30, 54:31 "How does God contrast His people's faithfulness 54:35 against rebellion of the world?" 54:38 "How does God contrast His people's faithfulness 54:43 against rebellion of the world?" 54:46 We're gonna go to two texts in the Bible, 54:47 Revelation Chapter 12. 54:49 Now these are pictures of prophetic importance, 54:52 but it's amazing that God uses the picture that He does. 54:56 One to describe 54:57 the faithful condition of His church, 54:59 the other to describe the church in rebellion. 55:02 Revelation 12:1, Revelation 12:1 and here it is. 55:07 Wow. 55:10 Bible says, "Now a great sign appeared..." 55:12 Where? "In heaven, a woman..." 55:15 By the way, in prophecy a woman represents the church. 55:17 "A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, 55:23 and on her head a garland of..." 55:24 What? "Twelve stars." 55:26 What is she clothed in? 55:28 Natural beauty, sun, moon, stars. 55:32 Natural beauty. 55:35 When a woman has a natural beauty, 55:39 God is saying and this may seem strange to our world today 55:42 but I believe when a woman, when a child is born 55:46 that God has given the young man 55:47 and the young lady everything they need 55:49 to carry on for the rest of their lives. 55:52 The more beautiful and more natural, 55:54 the more we are representatives of God's presence. 55:57 But look at the contrast. 55:59 That will, you put it Revelation 12:1, 56:02 "God's faithful people." 56:05 Look at the next one, the contrast, all right. 56:08 The contrast. 56:11 I don't think I changed, okay, 56:13 I don't think I changed the text 56:15 but let's just read it in the Bible. 56:16 Look at Revelation Chapter 17. 56:20 I remember when I was finishing this, 56:21 the doorbell rang 56:24 and it threw me but it's in the Bible. 56:27 Revelation 17:4, let's read that. 56:30 Don't need the screen on this one. 56:33 "The woman..." Now Revelation 17, 56:35 this is the woman of Babylon 56:37 "Was arrayed in purple and scarlet..." 56:40 And what color was missing? 56:41 Blue representing the commandments of God. 56:44 "And adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, 56:49 having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations 56:54 and the filthiness of her fornication." 56:56 So look at the two pictures there. 56:59 You find one gold, pearls, precious stones 57:04 in rebellion, sun, moon, stars in faithfulness. 57:11 God uses those two pictures to describe the church 57:15 as He pictures it to be 57:17 and the church how it has become. 57:20 The second picture is that of Babylon, 57:22 the fallen condition. 57:24 The first one is the glory of God 57:26 radiated through His church. 57:29 What we are gonna do in the next broadcast 57:31 and we will begin with this one 57:32 so if you haven't caught it yet, 57:34 we're gonna show you where this all came from. 57:37 We're gonna begin with Ezekiel Chapter 28 57:41 on our next broadcast 57:43 because if it's prevalent in the world today 57:45 you must wonder where it came from? 57:49 Why is this an issue today? 57:50 Why is the church struggling with adornment and music? 57:56 The Bible gives the answer. 57:58 Friends, if it doesn't make sense, 57:59 go back over and over through it 58:01 because I believe you 58:02 by studying it will come into a sharper focus. |
Revised 2016-04-11