Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000027
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00:18 Hello, and welcome to Wednesday night prayer meeting here
00:21 at Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist church 00:23 also known as 3ABN worship center. 00:26 Here in the Midwest 00:28 where the weather is kind of inclement, 00:30 that's a big word meaning bad. 00:32 And there are those who are fearful of the clouds 00:34 and all the warnings that are spewing 00:37 or rotating around us. 00:38 But you're here and we have a wonderful crowd here tonight. 00:41 Can you all say amen to that? Amen. 00:43 And so we are ready to dig into God's word, 00:46 that is, to get some good living word, 00:49 the bread of life that will always strengthen us 00:51 as we continue following the Lord 00:54 and living for His glory. 00:56 Now if you want to get a copy of the lesson, 00:58 I know you'd like to have a copy of it, 00:59 go to this website, don't put www, go ASF.3abn.org 01:06 and download lessons 0, 09 01:09 which will be the Greatest Commission 01:11 or Greatest Commission and get a copy of that. 01:15 And invite your family and friends 01:16 to sit down for the next hour or so 01:19 that is less than an hour as we walk through 01:21 what the Great Commission is. 01:23 Now I know you have it in your head, 01:25 you're thinking I know the answer. 01:27 But we're gonna surprise you tonight 01:28 as we talk about The Greatest Commission 01:31 and really what that entails. 01:33 But before we do anything we have prayer, 01:34 then we have a song together 01:36 and then we get into the study of the God's word. 01:38 So let's bow our heads together 01:39 and invite the Lord's presence to continue with us. 01:42 Heavenly Father, thank You, Lord, for the opportunity. 01:44 Your word is a lamp unto our feet 01:47 and, in this dark world, a light unto our path. 01:50 Father, we are traveling. 01:52 We need our path to be lighted. 01:55 And so Lord, tonight, come and bring the word to life. 01:58 Make it the living word. 01:59 You are the living word, the bread of life. 02:01 But fill us now as we seek to understand 02:04 more clearly how we fit into the greatest commission. 02:08 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. 02:11 Now our song tonight is which has been, 02:14 of course, for quite sometime "Victory in Jesus." 02:16 We're gonna sing that song. 02:17 If you know it you can sing along with us. 02:19 Here's our theme song. 02:29 I heard an old, old story How the Savior came from Glory 02:36 How He gave His life on Calvary To save a wretch like me 02:44 I heard about His groaning Of His precious blood's atoning 02:51 Then I repented of my sins And won the Victory. 02:59 Oh, Victory in Jesus my Savior forever 03:07 He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood 03:14 He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him 03:22 He plunged me to Victory beneath the cleansing flood 03:29 I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory 03:37 And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea 03:44 About the angels singing and the old redemption story 03:52 And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of Victory 03:58 Key change. 04:00 Oh, Victory in Jesus my Savior forever 04:07 He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood 04:15 He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him 04:22 He plunged me to Victory beneath the cleansing flood 04:30 He plunged me to Victory 04:34 beneath the cleansing flood 04:40 Amen. Amen. 04:42 Now this song fits really well into the topic tonight, 04:45 because it's called "The victory in Jesus." 04:50 And the topic tonight is "The Greatest Commission 04:52 or The Greatest Commission or The Greatest Commission." 04:56 You can pick which one you like because there are all the same. 04:59 There's a commission that is so great 05:02 that sometimes we don't really understand 05:05 what the great commission is. 05:07 As I've studied this lesson, I got so excited that 05:11 last night when I climbed in bed and I said to my wife, 05:16 "Oh, I just read a beautiful chapter in the book, 05:19 The Life of Victory. 05:20 And by the way, I would strongly recommend, 05:22 if you can get your hand on a copy of the book, 05:24 The Life of Victory. 05:25 I have a copy here in front of me that's so old, 05:27 I had to take it to Kinko's and have it rebound. 05:30 But I understand that Amazing Facts 05:33 and some of the other ministries are making this book available. 05:36 If you want to transform your understanding 05:40 and strengthen your understanding 05:43 of the righteous life of the Christian walk, 05:47 this book is one of the most powerful books 05:49 I've read outside of the writings of Ellen White. 05:54 This book was written, by the way, 05:56 by an author by the name of Meade MacGuire 05:59 during the turn of the 1900s. 06:01 Right at the early 1900s when many Christians, 06:04 including Adventist, 06:06 were struggling with an understanding 06:07 of righteousness by faith. 06:09 And so it really put in very simple and beautiful tones 06:12 and clear language 06:14 what righteousness by faith really is. 06:16 And so tonight's topic is right along the lines 06:19 of how we can have victory in Jesus 06:22 and really what the greatest commission is. 06:25 Now if somebody asks you what the greatest commission 06:27 is what would you say? 06:28 Let me just get some feedback tonight. 06:30 What would you say the greatest commission is? 06:31 Go ye into all the world. 06:33 Going into all the world, that's right. 06:34 Like when we asked the question, what is sin? 06:37 Sin is the transgression of the law, right? 06:41 What is faith? 06:42 The substance of things hoped for, 06:45 the evidence of things not seen. 06:47 Those are all correct answers. 06:49 But sometimes those answers became a wall to us 06:52 really understanding the fuller meaning 06:55 of what the great commission is. 06:57 And the other question is 06:58 how the great commission is really carried out? 07:02 So this lesson looks at a word 07:04 that--I would expand on a word called deployment. 07:09 What word is that? Deployment. 07:11 Now when you hear that word, what do you think of? 07:12 Don't you think of a war? 07:14 You think of military, you know? 07:16 Deployment, if it's in the air force, 07:18 they send out planes. 07:19 If it's in navy, they send out ships. 07:22 If it's the marines, 07:24 well, you know, they go in various ways. 07:25 Some of them come in incognito or in camouflage. 07:29 But deployment never means staying home. 07:32 Deployment always means going. 07:35 So if you can use that word, go, God has deployed the church. 07:41 But before the church can be deployed, 07:42 we talked about training the church for deployment. 07:46 So if you think about this topic tonight, 07:48 you must think about it in the context of war. 07:51 Because everything about the Christian life 07:53 is parallel to a military war. 07:56 For example the Christian is synonymous to the soldier. 07:59 And in both categories, there's a war. 08:01 There's a military war and there's a spiritual war. 08:05 On both sides there are enemies. 08:08 On both--in both camps there is the other side. 08:12 There's the adversary. 08:14 And the adversary, spiritually, is the devil. 08:17 I just want to say that because sometimes people think 08:19 the adversaries are the church members. 08:22 One person once said to me, 08:23 if you can see them they are not your enemy. 08:26 But the devil uses people sometimes 08:27 that have not been transformed. 08:30 You also have the POWs, prisoners of war, on both sides. 08:35 We're not so much being deployed 08:37 for prisoners of war in a military, 08:39 earthly sense but there are many prisoners of war 08:42 that don't know that the-- 08:45 that the emancipation proclamation of freedom 08:48 has been voiced for everyone in the world. 08:51 When Jesus died on the cross, 08:53 He made provision for everyone to be free, 08:56 for everyone to be rescued. 08:58 But we've got to carry this rescue message to the world. 09:02 And so tonight when you think along those lines, 09:03 you'll think of military deployment. 09:06 Then on both sides we also have the commander-in-chief. 09:10 Right now, that's the President 09:12 of the United States for America. 09:14 But the commander-in-chief for the world 09:16 and for the universe is who? 09:18 Jesus Christ, our commander-in-chief. 09:21 What's nice about thinking about 09:22 that is very few earthly commanders-in-chief 09:26 have been in war themselves. Some of them have. 09:29 Some of them have served in the military. 09:32 But we do know that our commander-in-chief, 09:34 Jesus Christ, is a military. I want to get this right. 09:41 He is a general that has never lost a battle. 09:44 What do you say? Amen. 09:45 So if He gives us orders, we can rely on those orders. 09:50 We know that they are concise, that they are legitimate, 09:55 that they are well thought out 09:57 and that they are designed for nothing but success, right? 10:01 So what I want to do tonight is begin 10:03 and we're gonna go once again-- 10:04 I want you to flash the title of this lesson. 10:06 I know you shared that a moment ago 10:08 but I want the people that are watching the program 10:09 and if you're listening, I'll just mention the title, 10:12 the title is The Greatest Commission. 10:15 Say it with me, The Greatest Commission. 10:18 And the reason I say this is 10:19 because when all earthly wars are done, 10:24 what's really gonna matter 10:25 is how many souls have been saved for eternity, right? 10:30 People, there've been wars ever since the Garden of Eden. 10:34 First place where the war began-- 10:36 matter of fact, it began in heaven. 10:37 Then it came to the earth. 10:39 And Paul says, "The earth has become a spectacle." 10:42 People look at this earth as a place 10:44 where war will seemingly never end. 10:47 But tonight we're gonna look at the first 10:49 and most important deployment. 10:50 Now let's go to question number one. 10:52 I want to dive right into this, right? 10:54 Question number one, "What does the Bible teach us 10:58 about the commission of Jesus?" 11:01 Commissioned, you ever heard of commissioned officers? 11:04 Well, Jesus is a commissioned officer. 11:06 "What does the Bible teach us about the commission of Jesus?" 11:09 In other words, if you could narrow this down, 11:12 what does the Bible tell us about the deployment of Jesus? 11:16 When was Jesus deployed, all right? 11:19 Galatians 4 verse 4 to verse 5 11:23 is where we're gonna be going for our answer tonight. 11:25 And as you know, it'll be on the screen here 11:28 and those of you who are watching the program 11:29 it'll be on the screen. 11:31 If you're listening, 11:32 we'll mention it so that you can follow along. 11:33 Galatians 4:4 is where our answer--now notice this. 11:36 And I'd like us to read this together 11:37 or at least follow me as I read it. 11:40 The Bible says, "But when the," 11:41 what's the next word? 11:43 Fullness of the time had come, God sent forth." 11:47 Underline that phrase sent forth his son. 11:51 "Born of a woman, born under the law," 11:55 and what was the purpose? 11:56 "To redeem those who were under the law, 12:00 that we might receive the adoption" as what? Sons." 12:04 In other words, the Lord had to put in place 12:09 a system by which we could become adopted. 12:13 Matter of fact, if I go back, 12:14 some of the system was already in place 12:16 but He had to carry that news 12:18 to say to those who are prisoners of war, 12:20 you're really my sons and daughters. 12:23 And I'm gonna show you exactly how you can become 12:26 my sons and daughters. 12:27 My mind right now is going so fast. 12:28 I got to slow it down. I have a New York mind. 12:31 Got to slow it down. 12:32 I'm on the F.D.R. drive 12:34 right now going 75 miles an hour. 12:35 If you are in New York, you know that's too fast 12:36 for the F.D.R. drive. 12:39 But when I think about this deployment, 12:42 I think of the most beautiful language of this deployment. 12:45 It says when the fullness of time had come. 12:48 In other words there is a time, 12:50 there was a specific time allotted for Jesus 12:54 to come to this earth to bring the message of salvation. 12:57 Those who lived before the deployment of Jesus 13:01 were looking forward to when Jesus would come. 13:03 They were in fact, by faith, 13:05 they were freed 13:07 as they looked forward to the cross. 13:09 Now we are free as we look, what? 13:12 Back to the cross. 13:13 They were all waiting to find out 13:15 whether or not this deployment would end 13:18 in a successful tour for Jesus. 13:23 I'm trying to use military words tonight 13:24 so since I'm not in the military, 13:26 I'm trying to pull them as they come to the forefront. 13:28 They were hoping that this military deployment 13:31 would be a successful tour for Jesus. 13:34 In other words if he died on the battle field 13:37 before He completed His mission, 13:39 there would be no hope for the prisoners of war. 13:41 You're following me here very carefully? 13:43 So this had to be put together very, very well. 13:45 It's called the plan of salvation. 13:49 He had to go and redeem those. 13:51 The plan of salvation was in place just as-- 13:53 my wife and I just a few weeks ago 13:55 or maybe about a month or more ago 13:57 when we came in through the St. Louis Airport, 13:59 we saw a lot of young men and young women 14:01 standing right in front of the recruitment office. 14:04 And I looked at that crowd and I said, "Honey, 14:09 some of them are not coming back alive." 14:12 And it was a sad reality. 14:14 But not everyone that goes to war comes back alive. 14:16 As a matter of fact we have more casualties in this war 14:19 now that's been going on for since 2001, lot of casualties. 14:25 But what I'm glad to say here today 14:27 is that Jesus came back alive. Amen. 14:29 He was not a casualty of war. 14:31 What do you say? Amen. 14:33 Now He paid a price for our freedom 14:36 but He was not a casualty of war. 14:40 Casualty means lost in battle. 14:45 You'll also find out that there's a second question 14:48 that we have to answer 14:49 that is also under question number one. 14:51 There's a second scripture. The time had come. 14:54 And the thing I want you to keep in mind 14:55 is when the time came God sent. 14:58 He did what, friends? 15:00 He sent in order for the battle to be successful, 15:04 somebody's got to be sent. 15:07 And it was predetermined 15:10 that Jesus would be the one that was sent. 15:12 Angels couldn't go because they did not create us. 15:15 Jesus had to go. 15:16 Now when He came what did He not come to do? 15:20 Look at John 3 and verse 17. 15:21 What did He not come to do? 15:23 This is so elementary but so significant 15:26 to the preaching of the gospel 15:27 because sometimes we fail to realize the power of the gospel, 15:31 one that's presented 15:33 the way that Jesus established it to be presented. 15:35 John 3 and verse 17, look together with me at that answer. 15:38 John 3 and verse 17. 15:40 This is what Jesus did not come to do. 15:43 John 3 and verse 17, it says, "For God," 15:47 say that together with me, 15:49 "did not send His son into the world" to do what? 15:52 "Condemn the world, but that the world through Him" 15:55 might be what? Saved." 15:57 Let's go ahead and back that up 15:58 and put that back in the military context. 16:01 When you go to rescue people that are caught 16:04 in the middle of the battle, 16:06 if they're caught in the middle of the battle, 16:08 you don't go to rescue them and when you find them, 16:10 condemn them. 16:12 Because they're already in a condemned situation. 16:14 They already know that they are prisoners of war. 16:16 They are in a serious situation. 16:18 They don't need to know how bad their situation is. 16:21 They need to know how much better it can become. 16:25 Lot of times we spend so much time 16:27 on the negatives of the gospel. 16:30 And what I mean by that, the gospel means good news. 16:33 How can you have negatives? 16:35 Because sometimes when you present the gospel 16:37 in the wrong package it sounds like it's negative. 16:41 But if you realize that the gospel 16:42 is not for the purpose of condemning 16:44 those who are without Christ but rescuing them 16:47 who are without Christ then you'll fall in line 16:50 with what Jesus did when He came on His first mission, 16:54 His mission, His deployment, when He was on His tour. 16:56 He didn't come to condemn those who are in sin 16:58 because they were condemned already. 17:01 So what I want you to write down, 17:02 what does the Bible teach us about the commission of Jesus? 17:05 Galatians 4:4, He was sent. 17:09 John 3:17, He was not sent to condemn. 17:14 Galatians 4:4, He was sent to save. 17:16 John 3:17, He was not sent to condemn, 17:19 that's what you want to put down in your answers. 17:21 He was sent to save. 17:23 He was not sent to condemn. 17:25 If you want to use the word there in Galatians, 17:26 He was sent to redeem. 17:28 He was not sent to condemn. 17:31 We all need redemption. 17:33 And the last thing we need to know 17:34 when we go to a dentist with a toothache 17:37 is for the dentist to look at us and say, 17:39 "You know, you've got a problem." 17:42 I know that. That's why I'm here. 17:44 That's not what I need to hear. 17:46 I need to--what can you do about my problem? 17:48 And one of the things I discovered is, 17:51 well, I don't want to give this away right away. 17:53 Let me just, let me just milk this as I go on. 17:57 One of the things that you'll discover 17:58 when you study the mission of Jesus, 18:00 the commission of Jesus, the deployment of Jesus 18:03 is He did not become... 18:10 in every particular like those He went to redeem. 18:14 Follow me very carefully. 18:16 The Bible says, He became sin for us, 18:19 but He didn't become a sinner. 18:22 You follow me carefully? 18:24 He did not feel that it was necessary to lower himself 18:28 to the darkness of the earth to save those in darkness. 18:32 That is very important point. 18:35 He maintained His stand as pure and holy. 18:40 He was tempted but He did not feel 18:42 it was necessary to lower the standards of heaven. 18:46 To become like those who live at a lower level 18:49 to save those at a lower level. 18:53 He came down to save us but He did not lower himself 18:59 to the standards of sinful man to save sinful man. 19:04 He was accused of that. 19:06 They said, He hung out with harlots 19:09 and tax collectors and winebibbers and sinners. 19:12 He was the friend of sinners but He did not become a harlot 19:16 and a winebibber and a tax collector. 19:19 And that's so vitally important 19:21 because what's happening in the church now-a-days-- 19:22 and I'm gonna take my time on this lesson-- 19:24 what's happening in the church. 19:25 Last week, you may remember, 19:27 after prayer meeting I showed some of you a video. 19:29 I'm not gonna talk about it on the air. 19:31 I'm not gonna start a firestorm. 19:32 But, you know, sometimes you look at the way 19:34 the church is going, the churches of the world, 19:36 they are adopting the ways of the world. 19:39 They are becoming so much like the world that you can't tell 19:41 when you're in a church whether this is 19:43 of the world or of the Lord. 19:45 And they're becoming like the world 19:47 hoping that becoming like the world 19:49 they can save those in the world. 19:51 But when we follow the lesson you'll discover, 19:53 Jesus came to save the world 19:55 not to become like the world to save the world. 19:59 But there's another commission we must look at right now. 20:01 Go to question number two. Go to question number two. 20:05 First of all, God sent His Son, Jesus. 20:09 And when the time came, 20:10 when the fullness of time had come, 20:14 who did Jesus send? Question number two. 20:18 Sshh, don't answer it. 20:20 Question number two, here it is. 20:21 You already know the answer. 20:23 "What does the Bible say about John the Baptist 20:25 and the call on his life?" 20:28 "What does the Bible say about John the Baptist 20:31 and the call on his life?" 20:34 We're gonna go to John chapter 1 and verse 6. 20:37 And as you know, it will be on the screen in just a moment 20:39 but I'm giving those who have a Bible chance to turn there. 20:41 John Chapter 1 and verse 6 reads as follows 20:43 and I want to see if you pick up. 20:45 There's gonna be a thread 20:46 running through all these scriptures. 20:48 The majority--I want to see if you pick up the thread, okay? 20:51 Because picking up the thread will get you excited 20:54 and picking up the thread will let you know 20:55 what you need to do. 20:57 Picking up the thread will help you understand 21:00 what God is going to deploy you to do 21:03 and how He's gonna deploy you, all right? 21:05 Very short verse and I want you to read this with me, all of it. 21:08 Are you ready? Here we go. 21:10 "There was a man," what's the next word? 21:14 "Sent from God, whose name was John." Okay? 21:19 When the fullness of time had come God sent. 21:25 Then as God sent Jesus, 21:28 God sent John to prepare the way for Jesus. 21:34 And you know, John 1 and verse 29, 21:36 John said, "Behold, the Lamb of God 21:38 that taketh away the," what? "The sin of the world." 21:41 Not take away the sins, the actions 21:44 but he came to get rid of that fallen nature, 21:47 that nature that separated man from God, 21:50 that's what he came to take away. 21:51 Some people say, "Well, you know, 21:53 people that were back then didn't struggle 21:55 with all the things we struggled with now." 21:57 All sin is only three categories, 21:59 lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, 22:01 and pride of life. 22:02 And Jesus faced every one of those. 22:04 And you also notice that one of the first casualties on earth 22:07 was Adam and Eve. 22:09 They fell in those areas. 22:10 Lust of the flesh, 22:12 they saw the tree was pleasant to the eyes. 22:14 A tree desirable to make one wise 22:16 and they took of it and they ate. 22:19 lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, 22:22 and the pride of life. 22:24 They wanted to be wiser, lust of the flesh. 22:27 Lust of the eyes, the tree looked good. 22:30 And the pride of life, 22:31 the devil convinced them they could become like God. 22:34 Make them more proud than they already were. 22:37 Jesus faced temptation in the very same areas. 22:39 And when you go further, 22:41 you'll find that John talks about 22:42 all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, 22:45 the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 22:47 So where Adam and Eve failed, Praise the Lord, 22:49 Jesus succeeded. Amen. 22:51 Now so John was sent. 22:53 But let's go to the next one. 22:55 What happened? 22:56 "How does the Bible describe the impact of John's work?" 23:01 We're gonna see ourselves unfold in this in just a moment. 23:04 "How does the Bible describe the impact of John's work?" 23:09 What's amazing about John and as I was reading, 23:13 there was a statement here that I'd sure love to find it 23:16 and share it with you very carefully. 23:19 But I know you're finding it. 23:20 You're turning there with me. 23:22 As soon as I find it, I'm gonna read it to you 23:25 about how John was, was so powerfully prepared. 23:32 I know it by heart. I'll just go ahead and say it. 23:35 John was not prepared for his mission. 23:40 John was not prepared for his mission 23:42 by the things he learned in school. 23:48 I don't know if you heard me. 23:49 See my head is down. You probably didn't hear me. 23:52 John was not prepared for his mission 23:55 by the things he learned in school. 23:57 He was prepared instantaneously by the God who sent him. 24:04 Because when you read the story of John, 24:05 John was a strange fellow. 24:07 He would probably be one of the guys 24:09 that we'd have a hard time finding his seat 24:11 for when he comes to church. 24:13 Because he didn't dress in such a way 24:15 that people accepted him very easily. 24:18 And the kind of diet he had whether it was actually locust 24:20 or locust beans, you know, the conclusion there are people 24:26 who are still trying to figure out which one it was. 24:28 He ate honey and he ate locust. 24:31 He lived outside of the city. 24:32 He didn't dress in the fashions of the day. 24:35 He surely didn't look like a Pharisee. 24:36 He wasn't dressed as the leader describes. 24:39 He looked like a man that didn't really matter, didn't count. 24:41 And so when the Lord sent him out 24:45 and he was in the wilderness preaching his heart out, 24:48 the Lord asked the Pharisees and scribes. 24:50 Who did you go out to-- who did you go out to see? 24:52 A goodly man? Who did you go out to see? 24:55 A man dressed in soft clothing? 24:58 I mean, who did you go out to see? 25:00 And they were struggling coming up with an answer 25:03 that will please them. 25:05 And the Lord said, "Well, this is the one that I've sent." 25:09 The voice of one crying in the wilderness. 25:11 But what you'll find out is he got there 25:13 because the Bible described the mission that he had. 25:17 And what-- how effective was this mission? 25:19 What kind of impact did this have? 25:21 Matthew 3 verse 5 to 6 is where our answer is found. 25:25 Matthew 3 verse 5 to 6. 25:27 Look at the impact of his ministry. 25:30 The Bible says in Matthew 3 verse 5 and 6, 25:33 "Then Jerusalem, all Judea 25:36 and all the region around the Jordan was sent out to him." 25:41 Verse 6, "And were baptized by him in the Jordan, 25:46 confessing their sins." 25:48 Now I tell you when I read that word 'all'-- 25:50 I had read this text before but the word 'all' 25:52 jumped out at me this time. 25:56 How much of Judea went? 25:59 How much of the region? 26:00 All the region around the Jordan went out 26:04 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, 26:07 confessing their sins. Now let me ask you a question. 26:11 Was John a powerful preacher or was John powerfully anointed? 26:16 Powerfully anointed. 26:17 I tell you, you got to get the second correct. 26:19 You got to get that right. 26:20 Because what I want to make very, very clear. 26:22 It is not the power of the voice 26:25 as much as it is the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 26:28 So the power that the Spirit used to work 26:31 through this seemingly out of context 26:33 of his day kind of man, that's what drew the people. 26:38 Keep this in mind, he was preaching-- 26:40 he was preaching repentance and confession. 26:43 He was preaching conversion. 26:45 He was about to introduce Christ. 26:46 He was letting people know 26:48 that the coming of the Son of man was at hand. 26:50 Get ready. The Lord is coming. 26:54 He talked about a winnowing fan in his hand. 26:56 All the-- he was laying the foundation 26:58 and the message was so powerfully anointed 27:01 that all Judea, all the region around Jordan went out to him 27:05 and they were baptized by him in the Jordan, 27:07 confessing their sins. 27:09 Can you imagine what kind of baptism that must have been? 27:12 Now, you know, we see pictures of the Jordan. 27:14 Some people show us the large size of the Jordan 27:17 then sometimes we see the small little hole called the Jordan. 27:23 However, it's quite a challenge to have a baptism with all Judea 27:27 and all the region around Jordan 27:29 when they're going to get baptized. 27:31 And they got baptized because the message was anointed, 27:36 the man was anointed and the power that God, 27:40 that God flowed through him 27:42 impacted everyone that heard him. 27:44 And then they came confessing their sins. 27:49 Now let's go to the next level. 27:51 What does the Bible say about him? 27:52 Look at question number four. 27:54 "So how does the Bible describe the impact of John's work?" 27:56 It impacted all who heard him. 27:59 It impacted all who heard him. 28:02 It impacted all who heard him. 28:06 All Judea, all the region around the Jordon, it was amazing. 28:13 How, the people were impacted by the ministry of John. 28:18 Now what was the difference? 28:19 Question number four, 28:21 "what does the Bible say about the life of John?" 28:23 "What does the Bible say about the life of John?" 28:27 I like this text because it says something. 28:28 One of my favorite preaches says, 28:30 "You're either on fire for the Lord 28:32 or you'll be on fire by the Lord." 28:36 And I always, I have a different translation to that. 28:39 At the end of this journey there are two seats, 28:41 smoking and non-smoking. 28:43 I want to be in the non-smoking seat. 28:45 What about you? But look at John's life. 28:47 Look at John's life. 28:49 John, Chapter 5 and verse 35 is where we find the answer. 28:53 The Bible says up John, "He was," what? 28:57 "The burning and" what? 28:59 "Shining lamp, and you were willing for a time 29:03 to rejoice in his light." 29:05 Speaking of the people of the region 29:07 and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 29:10 Jesus was addressing the ministry of John. 29:13 And they were those who as they heard him 29:15 for a time they were willing to rejoice in his light. 29:18 But notice what it says about him. 29:20 He was burning and shining. 29:21 He was a burning and shining lamp. 29:23 That's what happens to the life. 29:25 That's what happens to the life 29:27 that is imbued by the Holy Spirit. 29:29 When Jesus talks about letting our light shine. 29:32 Matthew 5 verse 14, he says, 29:34 "You are the light of the world." 29:36 In His absence we are the light of the world. 29:38 John 8 verse 12, Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." 29:43 And let's go to First Thessalonians. 29:45 I want you to write this down. 29:47 First Thessalonians--let me turn this to the text here. 29:52 First Thessalonians is where we're turning, all right. 29:57 And let me see where it is. 30:00 I think I might have it here. 30:01 Yeah, First Thessalonians Chapter 5 and verse 5. 30:08 Just in case you think we're any different than John, 30:11 look what the Bible says about those of us who are called. 30:14 It says, "You are," what's the next word? "Children. 30:18 You're all sons or children of light and sons of the day. 30:23 We're not of the night nor of darkness." 30:27 So when you think about 30:28 how God had lit up the life of John, 30:31 how God had empowered the life of John, 30:34 what got people excited-- 30:36 another saying that one of my favorite preachers have. 30:39 He says, "You cannot get anybody ready for the fire 30:42 that's coming unless there's fire down in your soul." 30:46 You've got to let your light so shine-- 30:48 the Lord is the light. 30:49 He is the light of the world, 30:50 but if you let your light shine-- 30:52 you know the promise there in Isaiah 60, 30:54 "Arise and shine for your light has come 30:57 and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." 31:00 "The Gentiles," the Lord says, 31:01 "will come to the brightness of your shining." 31:04 So when we shine for Jesus-- sounds like a simple term, 31:08 but it's a powerful term, when we shine for the Lord, 31:10 when we glow for the Lord. 31:13 How do we glow for the Lord? Somebody tell me. 31:15 How do we glow for the Lord? 31:23 By representing His character of love and faithfulness. 31:26 What else? Witnessing. 31:29 What else? 31:31 By every day living, by the life we live. 31:35 But you'll discover that by the life 31:38 we live by, by the love 31:39 and the peace and the longsuffering, 31:41 the gentleness all these are aspects of representing Christ. 31:44 But John went beyond that. 31:46 It was not just how he lived but he went to the next level. 31:50 We'll discover that as we continue to go on. 31:53 Let's look at another one. 31:54 Question number five, question number five. 31:58 And one of my favorite text is in First Peter. 32:00 I think it's First Peter 2:9 where it talks about, 32:04 "we have been called out of darkness into this" 32:06 what kind of life? "Marvelous life." 32:09 So when you think of bright burning 32:11 and shining that's marvelous. 32:14 Jesus is a marvelous light 32:16 and so are we if we follow the Lord. 32:18 Question number five, 32:21 "What was the driving force 32:23 behind Jesus' mission of soul winning?" 32:28 "What was the driving force 32:30 behind Jesus' mission of soul winning?" 32:35 We're in John, Chapter 4 and verse 34. 32:40 I want to see if you catch the thread, all right? 32:42 Don't want to give it away too quickly 32:44 but some of you are really fast. 32:46 He we are, John 4, verse 34, "Jesus said to them, 32:50 'My food is to do the will of Him who" did what? 32:54 "Who sent Me," and to what? 32:57 "Finish His work." What is the thread? 33:00 What thread have we connected so far? 33:03 Sent, sent, sent, sent, sent. 33:07 I want you to follow that 33:08 because I'm gonna share a few more with you. 33:10 But when you look in the Bible, in the Gospels, 33:13 you find that 35 times the word 'sent' shows up. 33:20 All pertaining to someone 33:22 who has been prepared for the gospel. 33:25 And the reason I'm mentioning 33:26 that is God does not call the Christian 33:32 to just respond to the gospel. 33:35 Danny Shelton often says, We have two commissions. 33:38 Come unto me all you who are weary 33:40 and heavy laden and I'll give you rest." 33:41 But then go. 33:43 There's come and then there is what? Go. 33:46 It's not enough to join the church. 33:49 If we only join the church 33:51 we miss out on the greatest blessing 33:54 of being deployed for Jesus. 33:57 If we just join the church 33:58 and we're settled in basic training, 34:00 if we just go to basic training and we come back home and say, 34:04 "I love basic training. It was great. 34:09 But, I'm not going to the war. 34:11 I mean, I'm all qualified and I know how to use my weapon. 34:14 I understand all the lingo of the warrior, 34:17 but I'm not going to the battle field. 34:18 There's no way." 34:20 Everybody that has been trained in the United States army, 34:25 even those that are volunteering, 34:26 have to standby for deployment at any moment. 34:30 One of the greatest battles of the last day church 34:34 is to find people that are willing to be deployed. 34:40 Why don't you get that? 34:42 Because for whatever reason the world has 34:47 and I'm using this phrase, 34:48 the world has successfully trained 34:51 the churches of America 34:53 to think that Christianity is mostly entertainment. 34:57 You think about that. 35:00 You know we have Christian only in America. 35:02 You get Christian Dove awards 35:04 and you get Grammy awards for singing Christian songs. 35:07 You get all kinds of awards for singing Christian songs. 35:10 They reward you for working. 35:11 I always wondered how do you give 35:13 a Christian artist a Grammy award? 35:15 Is that based on how many souls that song has won to Jesus? 35:18 I mean how do you measure that? 35:21 Is it because it's measured against the popular charts 35:23 or the way the song was designed 35:25 or the people that were playing on the instruments? 35:26 Because I've heard a lot of Christian artists say, 35:29 "Do you know who I have playing on my album?" 35:33 As if that's the major focus of the product. It should be, 35:39 "Do you know who I'm singing about on my product?" 35:45 Do you know why I put this together? 35:47 I want this to lead people to find Jesus. 35:50 But the world has designed the churches. 35:52 So you have churches now-a-days 35:53 I saw a video recently and the boast of the video was, 35:59 you've never seen a stage like this, 36:00 a metal pulpit like this and I'm preaching from my iPad. 36:05 And I use my iPad too, 36:06 but my iPad should not be the reason 36:07 why people join my church. 36:10 How it looks upfront, the aesthetics and how beautiful 36:13 and how large the arena is, it should never be-- 36:15 people should join the church 36:16 because they're concerned about the prisoners of war. 36:19 About those who don't yet know about Jesus, 36:22 about those who are still in concentration camps. 36:25 Let's go ahead and use that term 36:27 and begin to parallel that. 36:29 There are some people who are locked in their homes, 36:31 in the hovels and the darkness of despair. 36:34 They have no courage. 36:35 They're crushed in spirit 36:37 under the burdens of the things that they're fighting with. 36:40 They are in concentration camps. 36:43 They can't find their way out of darkness. 36:45 The Bible talks about those in the parables, 36:47 when Jesus talked about the lost coin, the lost sheep. 36:51 The coin is lost, but can't find itself. 36:54 The lost sheep knows he's lost, but can't find his way back. 36:57 And the lost son who is lost knows his way back, 37:00 but he doesn't want to be bothered. 37:02 So this world is a place where people are 37:05 locked in prison camps of despair, hopelessness. 37:08 But unless the church wakes up to the reality 37:10 that we are called to be sent 37:13 then we'll just be content being called. 37:16 And that's not all the Bible calls us to do. 37:19 Jesus says, "My food or my meat is to do the will of Him 37:23 who sent Me and" to do what, friends? 37:26 Can you imagine what will happen, 37:27 how fast the--how fast the gospel will wind up 37:31 if every member on the books 37:33 of every church decided, you know what? 37:37 We cannot sit content. 37:39 We've got to finish the work. 37:43 When Jesus died on the cross he said, 37:45 "It is finished. It is done. I finished the work." 37:51 And in that context, we should be so busy working for the Lord. 37:57 Jesus was sent to finish the work. 38:00 Notice when John the Baptist died 38:03 after he finished the work of introducing Jesus. 38:10 He knew that it was his time. 38:11 I must decrease, he must what? Increase. 38:15 He--people say, "Well, man he was such an asset. 38:19 He was just sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus." 38:24 When that work was done, John was laid to rest. 38:28 And my good friend Doug Batchelor 38:30 always says that we are always, 38:31 we are immortal until God is done with us. 38:34 And if we die we still have eternal life. 38:38 But the church has to catch the vision that God calls us. 38:42 He sends us and Jesus had the passion. 38:44 He said, "I didn't come to the earth to hang out indefinitely. 38:47 I got some work to do. 38:48 And I don't have a whole lot of time. 38:49 I got three and a half years after my anointing 38:51 to get this work done. 38:53 And all the rest of that time was preparing for that work 38:55 and the work was intense, 38:57 but He says I don't have whole lot of time. 38:58 And when the time came He was so busy doing His work 39:04 that when the time came to arrest Him, 39:06 He knew that He had finished the most important part of His work. 39:10 And He said to those who came to arrest Him, 39:12 this is your hour, this is your time now. 39:14 I got my work done. Now it's your time to do your work. 39:18 Go ahead and do what you must do. 39:19 He said Judas, whatever you do, do quickly. That's your work. 39:23 The devil has given you work to do. I've done my work. 39:25 The mob is gonna do their work. 39:27 Pilate's gonna do his work, Caiaphas is gonna do his work. 39:29 But I've done my work. 39:31 And when He died on the cross, He said, "It is done." 39:33 The greatest, the greatest contentment 39:36 the Christian should have is being able to say, 39:40 "I'm working for the Master. 39:41 The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few." 39:43 Let's go into the next one. 39:45 So what's the answer to number five? 39:50 What does the Bible say about the life of--number six? 39:53 That's right number six is what we just read. 39:55 What did Jesus say was the chief reason? 39:59 Number five what was the driving force--sorry-- 40:02 behind Jesus' mission and soul winning? 40:04 What was the driving force? Finish. 40:08 The word "finished." 40:10 Lot of people are doing things, but what have they finished. 40:13 I've heard people say, "I'm busy." 40:15 My supervisor once said, 40:17 "I don't care if you're busy, are you finishing anything?" 40:20 See busy people don't necessarily 40:22 mean they're finishing anything. 40:23 Some people can always say, "I'm busy." 40:25 But what do they mean? Busy doing what? 40:27 Busy doesn't mean necessarily anything is getting done. 40:31 All right? Let's go to number six. 40:34 "What did Jesus say was the chief reason 40:38 that drove His will?" 40:40 "What did Jesus say was the chief reason 40:43 that drove His will?" 40:45 I was talking to the young people 40:47 at our junior academy here and I said to them, 40:49 "What singular word can you contribute 40:52 to the reason why people don't accomplish many things?" 40:56 We talked about people accomplishing things and we said 40:59 "What name comes to mind that has so impacted the world 41:04 that you consider had that word that they brought up?" 41:07 And they came up with the word drive. 41:09 They said a lot of the reasons why people are not successful 41:11 in what they attempt is because they don't have drive. 41:15 They don't have drive. 41:16 Another word for drive is passion. 41:18 They don't have mission. 41:19 They're not deployed with a goal in mind. 41:21 They don't understand that they have just put so much time 41:23 to do the work that God has called them to do. 41:25 So this question is in that context. 41:27 Look at the answer here. 41:29 And this is in John 5 and verse 30, 41:32 Jesus said, "I can of Myself do" 41:34 how much? "Nothing." 41:36 Don't try to do the work by yourself. 41:39 "As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is righteous, 41:44 because I do not seek My own will 41:47 but the will of the Father who" did what? 41:50 "Sent me." There's the thread again. 41:52 Now get this, the other reason why the church is so inactive 41:55 is because people are busy seeking their own will. 41:58 They say they are the children of the Father, 42:01 but they're not concerned about the Father's will. 42:04 How many times have you heard people ask the question, 42:05 "I wonder what God's will is for my life?" 42:07 You know what the will of God is? To get involved in His work. 42:10 That was the will--that's what Jesus says, 42:12 "I don't come to seek my own, 42:13 but the will of the Father who sent Me." 42:15 And what did He say earlier? 42:18 "To finish the work." 42:21 "To finish the work." What is God's will? 42:24 Now you sit around waiting for some epiphany 42:26 from some spirituals fortunetellers somewhere. 42:28 "I wonder what God's will is for my life." 42:32 Well, ask a soldier. I wonder what--wonder what my will is. 42:37 Wonder what the nation's will is for this soldier? 42:39 Go to battle, get on the battle field. 42:41 When God calls us, 42:42 He has work for us to do long before He calls us. 42:44 So the answer to number six is, 42:47 "What did Jesus say was the chief reason 42:49 that drove His will, is what?" 42:52 The will of the Father was His will. 42:55 The will of the Father was His will. 42:59 When we line up with the Father's will 43:02 then we are one with the Father. 43:06 We can't be one with the Father while we're doing our thing. 43:10 Remember Jesus said that He says, 43:12 "You are either gathering with Me or you are" what? 43:14 "Scattering abroad." 43:16 "He that is not with me is" what? 43:17 "Against Me." 43:19 And so many Christians are not by proxy. 43:22 They don't say by declaration. 43:25 They don't stand up in church and say, 43:26 "You know what, I am against Jesus." 43:31 But when Paul wrote to Timothy, he said, 43:40 "With their mouth they confess me. 43:42 But they are disqualified for every good work." 43:45 In other words, the King James Version used a word "reprobate." 43:49 In other words, they're not ready. 43:50 They say, yes, they are connected with Me. 43:52 But why is that that they're not doing My will? 43:55 And soul winning is the will of the Father. 43:58 Soul winning is why Jesus was sent. 44:02 He just wanted to rescue somebody from the dregs of sin. 44:07 Number seven, number seven. 44:09 So if you put the answer to number six, 44:11 what did you put down? 44:13 The will of the Father was what drove Jesus. 44:16 So when we pray, "Lord." 44:18 You know, you pray that prayer, 44:19 "Let thy will be done on earth as it is" where? 44:23 "In heaven." 44:24 The will in heaven was being done 44:26 because that will sent Jesus. 44:29 Now that will was being done on earth. 44:31 But we're praying for that same thing to happen in us. 44:33 Let thy will be done where? In us. 44:37 Not just in everybody else. 44:39 Okay, number seven. 44:40 Question here it is, 44:41 "When questioned about His place of origin, how did Jesus reply?" 44:45 "When questioned about His place of origin, 44:48 how did Jesus reply?" 44:51 John 7:29, a very short passage. 44:54 I'll just go ahead and read it to you very quickly. 44:56 Take you out of the mode of suspense. Here it is. 45:00 He says, "But I know him." 45:02 Speaking of His Father. "For I am from Him, 45:04 and He did what? Sent me." 45:07 When He knock on the door, 45:08 when He come to somebody's door, 45:10 and they may ask 'cause when people knock at my door, 45:13 I always ask who is it? Do you ever ask that question, 45:15 who is it? And you can identify them 45:17 pretty much of that big brown truck 45:19 drives up in front of your house, 45:21 who is it? UPS. 45:23 If it's white with pink and orange 45:25 that FedEx, right? 45:27 You can-- they are identifiable. 45:29 The Christian should be identified in the world. 45:33 Let me go ahead and talk about the things that keep 45:35 the Christian from being identified. 45:38 If the FedEx truck drove up and a guy 45:42 with UPS outfit came out, you say, "Huh?" 45:47 Now follow me. Do you agree? 45:50 You became, "Oh, for a FedEx truck 45:52 drove up and a guy with a --if a FedEx truck drove up 45:54 and a guy with UPS came out, did I just say that?" 45:57 Well, let's put that around or if you went to the hospital 46:00 and a guy with a mechanic's outfit came out, 46:04 doctor, are you okay? Oh, don't worry about that. 46:07 I fix engines to my engine outfit. 46:09 But don't worry about it. I do surgeries also. 46:12 Will you be concerned? You follow me carefully. 46:15 What will happen in the world is sometimes 46:18 that the church looks so much like the world 46:22 that you're wondering, wait a minute, 46:23 wait a minute, wait a minute. 46:26 Are you a Christian? 46:27 The way is that you don't look apart. 46:30 And while we are not saved 46:31 by how we look or how we don't look, 46:34 tell that to a FedEx guy. Tell that to the guy from UPS. 46:39 And let me use the-- let me take 46:41 the sinology to the next designation 46:43 because I was in the clubs. 46:47 Christians in clubs are like 46:50 Federal Ex guys in UPS trucks. 46:55 It doesn't match. 47:00 A physician 47:04 with a motorcycle uniform on in an operating room, 47:09 I gotta make a great comparison here, 47:13 --is like a Christian that looks 47:15 so much like the world that you cannot identify 47:18 who he or she really is supposed to be. 47:21 And a lot of people say, it doesn't really matter. 47:24 Doesn't really matter what you see. 47:29 John the Baptist and Jesus came to represent the Father. 47:34 And although John looked like somebody who shouldn't fit, 47:38 you could not get confused by the mission 47:41 and the message that he bore and that he carried. 47:45 So when you think about this text 47:47 which is a very short one. 47:48 The reason why Jesus never forgot 47:50 His mission is because He never forgot 47:53 where He was from. 47:55 You gotta write that down. 47:56 The answer here, Jesus never forgot where He was from. 48:01 Sometimes when the church is done and the week begins, 48:05 Christians forget where they're from. 48:07 They'll be in church on Sabbath singing to God be the glory. 48:10 But on Monday, they forgot where they were on Sabbath. 48:13 And when I used to pastor in California, 48:18 you know, we don't have malls out here. 48:21 The biggest mall we have is that service station 48:23 right around the corner. 48:25 There're no malls in Thompsonville 48:26 for those of you who are thinking about 48:28 this being the glory land, not. 48:31 This is not a mall city. 48:32 We gotta travel a ways to get to a mall. 48:34 But sometimes you see people in the mall 48:36 during the week and you think, 48:38 "Didn't I just see you in church on Sabbath?" 48:39 Yeah, you did. And 48:41 you would never be able to tell 48:43 that just a few days earlier 48:45 they were in a different context. 48:47 So much like the world they miss the fact that they are-- 48:50 they should represent where they are from, 48:53 even though they are not there. 48:55 That's the context of this verse. 48:57 Jesus represented His Father even though 48:59 He wasn't with His Father. 49:01 He still maintained the connection 49:02 in life and in mission. 49:04 All right? Number eight. 49:06 Number eight. Go to the next page. 49:08 We're moving right along pretty well. 49:10 But I don't think we're gonna finish this tonight. 49:13 But that's all right. 49:14 As you know if you've been watching the program, 49:15 we always continue on to the next lesson. 49:20 All right, number eight, "Where did Jesus say 49:22 He was going after His work was completed?" 49:27 "Where did Jesus say 49:29 He was going after His work was completed?" 49:30 I heard the question-- 49:32 somebody just answered the question. 49:33 Where do you say He was going? 49:35 Give me your own answer. 49:36 Going back home. Where else would He go? 49:40 Well, let's see how the Bible says it. 49:42 John 7 verse 33. John 7 verse 33. 49:48 These are simple answers, 49:49 but there's something profound about each one of them. 49:51 "Then Jesus said to them, 49:53 I shall be with you a little while longer, 49:57 and then I go to Him who" did what? 50:00 "Sent me." Now get this. 50:02 Did Jesus leave before His work was done, yes or no? 50:05 No. Now here is a point. 50:07 And this sounds really strange, but do you know 50:09 that Matthew 24:15 says to us, 50:11 "We're not leaving until our work is done. 50:14 And this gospel of the kingdom 50:17 shall be preached in all the world 50:21 for a witness unto all nations 50:23 and" finish it with me, "and then shall the end come." 50:27 We're not going anywhere until our work is done. 50:30 And I can't get past that statement 50:32 where Ellen White says, 50:36 "The church is holding up to some degree 50:39 the coming of the Lord by its inactivity, 50:42 by not getting busy with the Lord's work." 50:45 So it's gotta be more than just-- 50:48 and I know--we strongly support Media Ministry. 50:51 You know that because you're watching the program, 50:52 you're listening to the program. 50:54 We strongly support that. 50:55 But this is just the gas station. 50:58 This is the filling station. 50:59 This is not where you leave your car. 51:01 When you get filled in the study of the word, 51:03 the sermons, the services in church, 51:05 that's just the filling station. 51:06 We've gotta go out filled by the commission, 51:09 filled by a passion to save lives. 51:12 And empty ourselves. 51:14 Become poured out in the life of somebody else. 51:18 So the Lord made it very clear here, 51:20 I'm not going until my work is done. 51:22 A little while longer. I'm almost finished, 51:24 in other words what He's saying. 51:26 And then I'm going back to Him who sent Me. 51:28 We will not go to where 51:29 we should be because the Lord says, 51:31 "I go to prepare a place for you." 51:33 See it's not enough for us just to be prepared for heaven 51:37 because when we've finished this program or this topic, 51:40 not necessarily tonight, but when we finish this lesson, 51:42 you'll discover that there are 51:44 two things that God prepares for us. 51:46 I'll tell you now for those of you 51:47 who may not get the next program. 51:49 God prepares a home for us. 51:52 But He prepares a work for us. 51:56 Before we get to the home for us, 51:59 we've gotta go through the work for us. 52:03 Not speaking about salvation by works. 52:06 But apply it to the world 52:08 there's not a single person that's been hired 52:10 that gets paid without working. 52:12 "Behold, I come quickly 52:14 and My reward is with Me to give to every man 52:15 according to as his work shall be." 52:18 All right? Let's go to question number nine. 52:21 Question number nine, 52:25 "Whom did Jesus say was with Him as He ministered?" 52:33 "Whom did Jesus say was with Him?" 52:35 I'm giving you elementary things, 52:37 but I want you to catch the parallel. 52:39 Because everything that was true, 52:40 but the work and the mission of Jesus is also true about us. 52:43 We're not going anywhere until our work is done. 52:45 Look at number nine. 52:47 The answer is John chapter 8 and verse 16. 52:50 John chapter 8 and verse 16 52:52 and the answer is as follows. 52:54 He says-- 52:58 it's the continuation of a thought, 52:59 but I just wanted this verse. 53:01 "And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; 53:04 for I am not alone, but I am with the Father 53:08 who" did what? "Sent Me." 53:10 Now you want to get this. He was physically on earth. 53:15 But He was with the Father in thought, 53:17 in mission, in deed, in passion. 53:21 There were no two lines. 53:22 They were synchronized together. 53:24 They were locked in. Here's my point. 53:26 Whether we are physically with the Father, 53:29 whether we are physically with Jesus or not, its not the point. 53:32 We have to remember that when we are involved 53:34 in the work of God, we are not alone. 53:38 We're not alone. He says, "I'll never do" what? 53:42 "Never leave you, I'll never forsake you." 53:43 So when we are involved in the work, 53:45 we have a divine presence with us, 53:47 the Father, the Lord, the Holy Spirit. 53:50 That's what He gave to the church. 53:53 He filled the church with the power of His Holy Spirit. 53:56 And then He sent them forth to labor. 53:58 So when we are involved in the work, we are not alone. 54:02 That's what I wanted to pull out of this passage. 54:04 We are not alone. 54:06 And Jesus made it very, very clear. 54:07 "The one who sent me is the one who I am with." 54:10 So if somebody knocks on our door 54:13 that we don't recognize and--by the way, 54:16 let me just give you another part. 54:18 Don't open the door. Don't ever open the door. 54:20 They say if somebody's knocking on your door 54:21 and they claim to be-- make sure 54:23 they show you official I.D., right? 54:28 So if you say, well I'm with the Local Law Enforcement. 54:31 Could I see your I.D.? All right? 54:35 See the connection to the Father. 54:37 I need to make sure that 54:38 who you say you're with is in fact the case. 54:42 Because there are lot of camouflage Christians 54:43 now-a-days, lot of camouflage messages. 54:46 We have to make sure that our words and our work 54:49 is always in harmony with the mission of the Father. 54:52 Okay, number ten. Number ten, 54:55 "Concerning His teachings 54:57 what point of origin did Jesus give?" 55:01 "Concerning His teachings 55:02 what point of origin did Jesus give?" 55:05 This is really--this is very powerful one here. 55:07 Simple answer, but powerful in the context. 55:10 Number ten, we're going 55:12 to John 7 and verse 16 for the answer. 55:15 John 7 and verse 16, all right? 55:20 You all ready for the answer? 55:23 Ready for the answer, here it comes. 55:26 And the Bible says, "Jesus answered them and said, 55:30 "My," what's the next word? 55:33 "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me." 55:38 Notice once again. Everything He taught 55:41 had an origin, a point of origin. 55:42 He didn't make it up when He came to the earth. 55:44 As a matter of fact even when the Spirit-- 55:46 even when the Holy Spirit was left-- 55:47 if you go to John 16:13, 55:49 go there very quickly with me. 55:50 John 16 verse 13, just to show you 55:53 that the unbroken connection 55:56 between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 56:01 John 16 verse 13, 56:03 there's a connection that is so powerful. 56:05 In other words what the Lord was saying-- 56:06 He said to those if you hear what I say, 56:09 you know that My Father believes the same thing. 56:12 What does that say to us? 56:14 Anytime we teach anybody anything, 56:16 it has to connect with what Jesus would say. 56:19 Because there're whole lot of doctrine in this world 56:22 that we cannot say came from the Father. 56:26 There're whole lot of doctrinal teachings 56:28 in this world that are man made 56:30 that does belong to the individual who came up with it. 56:33 But anytime we teach something, 56:35 it has to have a divine connection. 56:37 Look at John 16 verse 13, 56:39 boy, this is going by so fast. 56:41 "However when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, 56:44 He will guide you into" how much truth? "All truth. 56:48 For he will not speak on his own authority 56:52 and neither did Jesus, but whatever He hears, 56:56 He will speak and He will tell you things to come." 57:00 And get this how Jesus connected with the Father. 57:03 Look how the Holy Spirit connects to Jesus. 57:05 "He will glorify Me for he will 57:07 take of what is Mine, and declare to you." 57:11 See the unbroken thread. 57:13 From the Father to Jesus, Jesus to the Holy Spirit, 57:17 the Holy Spirit to us. 57:19 That's how Revelation got together. 57:21 Father to Jesus, Jesus to the Holy Spirit, 57:25 to the Angel of the seven churches down to us. 57:29 Man, our time came and went so fast. 57:31 I'll tell you, I want you to stay tuned 57:32 for the continuation of this lesson. 57:34 And by the way, if you want to summarize 57:36 this in a word that you can take sometime to study. 57:38 The word is deployment. 57:40 There is a great commission 57:42 that I like to term the greatest commission. 57:44 The greatest commission 57:46 is the saving of souls for the kingdom of God. 57:49 When you walk through the gates into the New Jerusalem, 57:52 there are gonna be many that walk through 57:53 those gates with you if you simply lived your lives 57:56 to the honor and glory of God. 57:58 So keep trusting God and His word 58:00 will come into a sharper focus. |
Revised 2014-12-17