Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000059
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00:21 Hello, friends, welcome to another Wednesday night
00:24 Bible study here at A Sharper 00:26 Focus at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:28 We thank you for taking the time to tune in, 00:31 and to get together with us for the next hour 00:33 or so to enjoy a wonderful Bible study. 00:38 We have been studying on the theme 00:39 "How to Live a Spiritual Life in a Natural Body." 00:43 And tonight, I think we just have 00:44 about two more questions left on that theme. 00:47 And then we're going to transition into 00:48 "How to Know the Truth about the Truth" 00:52 in which we're gonna be dealing with 00:53 quite a number of different topics. 00:56 Some of the tough doctrinal topics 00:59 that tend to make a difference 01:01 between whether the picture of Christ is clear 01:04 or whether it is fuzzy.` 01:06 And since our program is called A Sharper Focus, 01:09 we wanna make sure that everything 01:10 that is taught `about Christ is clear. 01:12 Can you all say amen to that? 01:13 That it is a sharp focus, 01:15 that it's not something that's blurry, 01:18 and something that really doesn't make much sense 01:20 to those who are studying. 01:21 So get your friends together your family members, 01:23 if you're joining us from a church, 01:24 welcome to those of you 01:26 who are sitting down in a group setting 01:28 or if you're home by yourself, 01:29 hey, glad to have you, but you need a Bible. 01:32 And also if you'd like a copy of the lesson, 01:34 go to this website asf.3abn.org 01:39 and download lesson number 18. 01:43 That's the one we're gonna be covering tonight. 01:45 Our new lesson, 01:46 but we're finishing up lesson number 17. 01:50 So we only have two questions there. 01:53 Download 17 if you don't have that one, 01:56 and 18 which is gonna be the new one. 01:58 We're gonna be beginning tonight. 02:00 But before we sing our theme song, 02:02 which is "Victory in Jesus." 02:03 Let's bow our heads together as we invite 02:05 the Lord's presence to be with us. 02:08 Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Your goodness. 02:10 Tonight, we thank You for Your grace. 02:13 We know that the study of Your Word 02:14 is of vital importance. 02:17 And we now pray 02:18 that You will come into our hearts 02:20 and minds to be our guide. 02:23 We know that Your Holy Spirit will be our teacher, 02:26 but not only impress upon our minds what we study, 02:29 but may it impact our lives for Your honor. 02:32 In Jesus' name we pray. 02:35 Amen. 02:36 Well, are you all ready to sing? 02:39 Don't sound like it. Are you ready to sing? 02:40 Amen. 02:42 Let's sing the song together our theme song 02:43 "Victory in Jesus." 02:44 And if you know the words join along with us. 02:53 I heard an old, old story 02:57 How the Savior came from glory 03:00 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:04 To save a wretch like me 03:08 I heard about His groaning 03:12 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:15 Then I repented of my sin 03:19 And won the victory The chorus. 03:23 O victory in Jesus 03:27 My Savior forever 03:31 He sought me and bought me 03:34 With His redeeming blood 03:38 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:42 And all my love is due Him 03:46 He plunged me to victory 03:49 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:53 I heard about a mansion 03:57 He has built for me in glory 04:01 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:05 Beyond the crystal sea 04:08 About the angels singing 04:12 And the old redemption story 04:16 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:20 The song of victory Key change. 04:24 O victory in Jesus 04:27 My Savior forever 04:31 He sought me and bought me 04:35 With His redeeming blood 04:39 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:42 And all my love is due Him 04:46 He plunged me to victory 04:50 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:54 He plunged me to victory 04:58 Beneath the cleansing flood. 05:04 Amen. 05:08 I said amen by myself. 05:11 We have been studying the topic 05:13 How to Become a Christian under the continual title 05:18 of How to Live a Spiritual Life in a Natural Body. 05:23 And tonight, what we're gonna discover 05:25 is that there is in fact, 05:27 a couple of very important points 05:29 that we want to keep, 05:31 and bring it to a special focus tonight. 05:33 One of those is how many of us 05:35 believe the commandments of God need to be kept? 05:38 Let's raise our hands locally here. 05:40 And I know if you're watching, I know you'd say, of course, 05:42 the commandments of God should be kept. 05:45 But the Bible brings out some very important principles 05:48 on what it means to keep the commandments of God, 05:50 intellectually, also, what it means 05:52 to keep the commandments of God, experientially, 05:55 and we're just covering two questions tonight. 05:57 Number 20 and number 21 on lesson number 17, 06:02 and then we're gonna transition to lesson number 18. 06:06 Now there are those that say, well, if you keep the Sabbath, 06:11 you are a commandment keeper. 06:13 If you do not steal, you are a commandment keeper. 06:17 If you do not bear false witness, 06:18 do not commit adultery, do not covet, 06:21 you are a commandment keeper and vetted, that is correct. 06:24 All those things are true. 06:25 But there's another component 06:27 that James the Apostle 06:29 pulls together in the Faith Book. 06:32 And by the way, James is the Faith Book. 06:34 You know, Hebrews 11 is the Faith chapter. 06:37 James is the Faith Book. 06:38 James pulls together in James Chapter 2, 06:41 a very important question. 06:43 Actually, he brings the answer to a very important question 06:47 that I'd like to consider at this very moment. 06:49 So if you have your lessons with you, 06:51 let's look at the question, question number 20 tonight. 06:55 Question number 20. 06:57 And the question is, 06:58 In what way does helping others fulfill the Law? 07:05 In what way does helping others fulfill the Law? 07:09 So let's go to James Chapter 2. 07:12 What book did I say? 07:14 James. Don't get quiet on me. 07:16 Now you guys can get quiet 07:17 on everybody else but not on me. 07:19 I'm a New Yorker. I like to hear some reaction. 07:21 What book did I say? 07:23 James. James. That's right. 07:24 And those of you who are at home a little loud, 07:26 I can't hear you. 07:28 James Chapter 2. Let's look at this together. 07:31 And we're gonna look together at verse 8 and verse 9. 07:36 James 2:8-9. 07:41 And I'll show you... 07:42 I'm gonna also emphasize something 07:43 that you'll find in this scripture, 07:46 in what way does helping others fulfill the law? 07:51 All right, let's look at verse 8 and 9. 07:54 And here's what we have on our screen. 07:57 The Bible says, let's read this as our first text. 08:00 "If you really fulfill 08:02 the royal law according to the Scripture, 08:06 which is 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself, 08:10 you do well, but if you show partiality, 08:13 you commit sin, 08:15 and are convicted by the law as, "a what?" 08:18 As a transgressor." 08:20 So if you answer the question, 08:22 in what way does helping others fulfill the law? 08:27 What would you put down? 08:32 Love your neighbor as yourself. 08:34 See, Jesus tied the commandments together 08:38 in two wonderful bows. 08:40 Or some often say, 08:41 He hung the commandments on two nails. 08:44 The first nail is love the Lord. 08:46 Love the Lord with how much of your heart? 08:49 All your heart, all your soul, all your mind. 08:52 And then the second one, 08:54 the second nail is love your neighbor as yourself. 08:56 He did not get rid of the commandments 08:59 but the answer is, 09:01 "You love your neighbor as you love yourself." 09:04 If you're writing the answer down, 09:05 you love your neighbor as you love yourself. 09:10 That's the answer that we get tonight 09:12 out of James Chapter 2. 09:14 And the reason why this is so vitally important 09:16 is people think of love as an ethereal thing. 09:19 Or, you know, they say, 09:20 "Well, I love that meal or I love the way you cook." 09:24 Which is true about Sister Zita. 09:26 "Or I love that outfit, or I love that car." 09:28 We use the word love in a very broad, 09:31 in a very, you know, we apply it 09:32 to so many things that are temporary. 09:34 But 1 John 4:8 says, "God is love. 09:38 He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love." 09:43 So anything that is connected to love 09:45 is definitely connected to God 09:46 or anything that requires love requires the presence of God. 09:51 So when you think about becoming a Christian, 09:52 if you really are a Christian and God abides in your life, 09:56 the Lord abides in your heart. 09:57 Jesus is your Savior 09:59 and the Holy Spirit is working in you, 10:00 you know that one of the fruits of the Spirit is love. 10:04 Matter of fact, the first one mentioned 10:06 is the fruit of the Spirit is love. 10:09 Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 10:13 meekness, patience. 10:14 So love is one of the first evidences 10:17 that Christ is in our lives, 10:18 loving our neighbor as ourselves. 10:20 And the question would be really carefully, 10:23 who is your neighbor? 10:24 Who's your neighbor? 10:27 Everyone. 10:28 Everyone, that's not you is your neighbor. 10:31 That's the classic way of remembering that. 10:34 If you are not applying this to yourself, 10:36 anyone that is outside of you is your neighbor. 10:40 So to fulfill the royal law. 10:42 Now I wanna emphasize that really quickly royal law. 10:46 Now what, the reason 10:48 why James calls it the royal law, 10:51 is because we are part of a holy nation, 10:54 a royal priesthood. 10:57 So if you are part of that priesthood, 10:59 the law applies to you. 11:01 We are a holy nation. 11:03 We are a royal priesthood. 11:05 Say that phrase, royal what is it? 11:07 Priesthood. 11:08 We are part of that royal priesthood. 11:10 So somebody would say, "Are you a Christian?" 11:12 Yes, you are part of a royal priesthood. 11:14 So what's your obligation? 11:16 To fulfill the royal law. 11:19 And why is it royal? 11:20 Because we serve the King of kings and Lord of lords, 11:23 cannot be any more royal than that. 11:25 Really can't. 11:27 So if you are a Christian, then you are royal, 11:32 and you also live according to the royal law. 11:35 And that is love your neighbor as yourself. 11:37 And as someone once said, "How can you love God 11:40 who you don't see 11:42 if you refuse to love your neighbor 11:44 who you do see." 11:45 Now let's even add a broader statement to that. 11:48 The Bible... 11:50 If you look at Paul's admonition to husbands, 11:53 love your wives. 11:56 Children, obey your parents and also love your parents. 12:01 So as we operate in the royal setting 12:05 of those who are following Christ, 12:07 the royal law is very much a part of that. 12:10 I'm excited about the next study. 12:11 So let's go ahead and finish this one up. 12:13 Are you ready? 12:14 Let's look at question number 21. 12:16 Question number 21. 12:18 Okay, hmm, this is really wonderful. 12:22 This fits right into the context 12:24 of what we just read. 12:25 But here's the question, 12:27 "What is the ultimate measurement 12:30 of a person's Christianity?" 12:33 What is the ultimate measurement 12:35 of a person's Christianity? 12:37 A lot of times people say, "Well, it's how good I sing." 12:42 Is it that? 12:43 What's the answer to that? 12:45 No, it's not. Is it how good I preach? 12:48 No, it's not that either. 12:50 There's a measurement that comes in being a Christian 12:52 and this text, 12:54 Jesus points this text out very, very carefully. 12:57 Go to Matthew 25:40. 12:59 Matthew 25:40. 13:01 What is the ultimate measurement 13:03 of a person's Christianity? 13:07 The ultimate measurement of a person's Christianity. 13:09 Matter of fact, go with me there. 13:11 I know you're returning there. 13:13 I'm on my way. 13:15 Okay, here we are. 13:16 I am there. 13:19 All right. 13:20 I want to go ahead before we just give that last answer. 13:23 Before we give the verse... 13:25 Well, let's read verse 40. 13:26 And then I'll add some more to it. 13:28 Here's the answer. 13:30 "And the King will answer and say to them, 13:33 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it 13:39 to one of the least of these My brethren, 13:42 you did it," what? 13:44 "To Me.'" So the service to others. 13:46 So here's the answer. 13:47 I'll just put this on the screen very carefully. 13:49 We treat others as we would treat Christ. 13:53 Now does that add a great responsibility 13:55 to our Christianity? 13:57 If Christ were here, what would you do? 14:00 Would you say good morning? 14:01 Would you say good evening? 14:06 Would you treat Him with kindness? 14:10 Would you get upset with Him if He didn't agree with you? 14:14 I mean, all these questions I'm asking, 14:15 these are kind of silent answers 14:17 because each of you may answer it in different way. 14:20 But the point of the matter is, 14:22 if we would treat Christ a certain way, 14:24 He is saying to us, 14:25 if that's the way you'll treat Me, 14:27 that's the way that I want you to treat others. 14:29 Amen to that. 14:30 However, we treat Christ is the way 14:33 He wants us to treat others. 14:35 And a lot of the stumblings that we have oftentimes 14:37 as Christians is that we say, 14:39 but I don't necessarily agree with that person 14:41 or we don't see everything eye to eye. 14:43 He didn't say, always agree. 14:47 He says treat them. 14:49 But also this text... 14:50 Let me go ahead and give the broader picture to it. 14:52 Matthew 25 and let's see what He meant by verse 40. 14:57 All right, look at verse 41. 15:01 Wow! 15:04 "Then He will also say to those on the," what hand? 15:07 "Left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, 15:10 into everlasting fire prepared for the devil 15:13 and his angels.'" 15:14 Before I go any further, 15:16 when I first discovered that text 15:17 many, many years ago, 15:18 I thought, "Well, hell was not prepared for people, 15:21 it was just prepared for the devil and his angels. 15:23 Why do we wanna break in on that party?" 15:26 Right, think about it. 15:27 Why do we wanna be involved in that 15:28 when the Lord didn't even prepare hell 15:30 for anybody He created? 15:32 That is not for His children, not for anybody 15:34 that is given his or her life to the Lord. 15:36 So if it's just for the devil and his angels, 15:38 we don't need to be a part of that, right? 15:41 But look at the next part. 15:43 He says, "For I was hungry," this is the treatment. 15:45 "For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, 15:48 I was thirsty and you gave Me," 15:50 how much drink? 15:52 "No drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, 15:57 naked and you did not clothe Me, 15:59 sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 16:04 'Then they will also... 16:05 Then they will answer Him, saying, 16:07 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty 16:11 or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, 16:15 and did not minister to You?'" 16:17 When do we see that? 16:18 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, 16:22 I say to you, in as much as you did not do 16:25 to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'" 16:28 And so you see the principle there, 16:30 there are only two categories, those who did it 16:32 and those who didn't do it. 16:34 Those who treated others as they would treat Christ 16:36 or those who saw others in need, 16:38 and thought it doesn't really matter. 16:43 And one of the greatest examples we have 16:44 of that is the story of the Samaritans, 16:47 the good Samaritans or the good Samaritan. 16:51 The Jewish leaders were on their way to synagogue, 16:54 the Pharisee was on his way to synagogue. 16:55 It was the Sabbath day. 16:59 And so they figured, you know, 17:01 if I stop now would make up at Sabbath School. 17:03 Or if I stopped now I surely would make up at the sermon. 17:06 And so they passed by a person in need. 17:08 And so here you are, as those who believe 17:11 that we are part of the royal nation obligated. 17:16 I was gonna say another word, 17:18 but my tongue is getting twisted right now. 17:22 I'm on Australian time still. 17:24 I should be sleeping right now actually. 17:27 But as we are obligated to keep the royal law 17:30 because we are part of the royal priesthood. 17:33 We are part of a holy nation. 17:35 We should look at everyone as Christ does. 17:38 Can I get an amen to that? 17:40 He's the King of kings. 17:42 He is the ultimate royalty, but He has children. 17:45 And He wants His children to treat others 17:47 as He would treat them. 17:49 And so we find here if we're hungry, 17:51 and we pray, Lord, provide food for me. 17:54 Would He provide that food? 17:56 And the Bible says David said, 17:57 "I've never seen the righteous forsaken 17:59 nor their seed begging for bread." 18:01 So clearly we see that if we have a need, 18:04 we know God is going to provide it. 18:06 In the very same measurement as we see a person with a need. 18:12 We may not have the option to say, 18:14 "Well, I'm not sure 18:16 whether or not I could provide that need." 18:18 Thus we have the example of Elijah and the widow. 18:23 Was she adequately supplied to provide the need 18:27 that Elijah had? 18:28 Did she have enough supply? 18:31 No, but according to God, she did. 18:33 You see, look at another example, 18:35 the young man with his loaves and fishes. 18:37 Did he have enough as he looked at what he had 18:39 to supply all that hungry multitude 18:41 of 5000 or 4000 people? 18:43 Did he have enough? Yes or no. 18:45 But did he have enough as far as God was concerned? 18:47 And so here's the reason I'm emphasizing 18:49 much on this particular point is this. 18:52 The Lord will bless and He would multiply 18:57 what is in our possession if we think about the need 19:00 and the concerns of others over ourselves. 19:03 So what in essence is being said 19:05 is we cannot not afford to help somebody, 19:08 we cannot not give somebody what they need. 19:12 We cannot say, "Well, you know, only have enough for one meal." 19:16 That's what the woman said to Elijah, 19:18 the widow said to Elijah. 19:20 And he said, "If you give to me first, 19:24 God will bless you tremendously." 19:26 And so when we look at this particular principle, 19:28 what I wanna emphasize by telling you that story 19:31 and given those examples is doing unto others 19:35 is never based on your inventory. 19:37 It's always based on your love for that other person. 19:40 It's not based on your ability to furnish that need. 19:44 You'll say, Lord, okay, I see the person in need. 19:48 Please give me the faith to reach out 19:52 to provide that person's need. 19:53 And the Lord said, "Give, and it will be given unto you, 19:57 pressed down, shaken together, and," what? 20:01 "Running over." 20:02 So the Lord is saying, everything's a test. 20:05 We've said to so many people, 20:07 when you live your Christian walk, 20:08 think about it, everything is a test, 20:11 ain't that right? 20:13 Never think of any situation is not a test, 20:16 you know, the person you see that hasn't, 20:18 that doesn't have what that person is needed. 20:20 It's a test. 20:21 And God wants to provide you to see whether or not 20:23 you're at the place 20:25 where you are willing to provide that person's need. 20:28 All right, we have ended 20:31 lesson number 18, lesson number 17. 20:35 And now we are transitioning into... 20:38 First I wanna show you the theme here. 20:40 The theme for this next series 20:42 that we're gonna be doing is entitled, 20:45 and it's on your screen, 20:46 "How to know the truth about the Truth." 20:50 And you'll notice 20:52 that there is a small "t" and there's a large "T" 20:58 and in particular the topic tonight is 21:01 "How to Know the Truth." 21:03 Now the reason why 21:05 there is a small "t" and a large "T" 21:09 is that one of the boasts that each denomination has. 21:14 And I think everyone has a copy. 21:16 One of the boast that each denomination has is this. 21:19 People say, what we have certain truths 21:22 that identify our denomination. 21:24 We have 28 of them, right? 21:26 We call them fundamentals, 28 fundamentals, 21:29 and each of them is the truth about the Word of God. 21:33 But what I wanna point out very carefully is 21:36 in the need package of the 28, 21:41 they don't come before the one. 21:44 Now I want you to notice on the screen, 21:46 I'm gonna go back just for our own audience here. 21:48 The little t-r-u-t-h would be the 28 fundamentals. 21:54 All right, the big T-R-U-T-H. 21:58 We're gonna find out what that is in just a moment 22:01 because until you are at the large T-R-U-T-H, 22:07 the small t-r-u-t-h doesn't really have 22:11 any bearing on your relationship. 22:14 All right. 22:15 We're gonna see that very carefully. 22:17 So when we talk about knowing the truth 22:19 or how to know the truth, 22:20 before we get into the doctrinal issues, 22:23 we wanna start at the very pinnacle point 22:27 of this study. 22:29 We're gonna start at the highest point 22:32 before you know all these doctrinal things. 22:35 What is the most important thing 22:37 to know right away? 22:39 All right, so let's dive into it. 22:40 Let's just go ahead. 22:42 Headfirst. 22:43 Are you ready? 22:45 We're going to look at question number one, 22:49 and here it is. 22:51 Okay. 22:54 "What does the Bible teach us about the truth?" 22:58 What does the Bible teach us about the truth? 23:01 And in the context of what I just mentioned, 23:04 I should have actually had a capital "T" right there 23:06 because that's where I'm headed. 23:08 All right. 23:09 What does the Bible teach us about the truth? 23:11 Go to the Book of John. 23:14 The Book of John, and we are going to look 23:17 together at Chapter 14. 23:20 John Chapter 14 is where we're headed. 23:24 All right. 23:27 John 14, and we're gonna look together at verse 6. 23:31 All right. 23:33 Let's look at this together. 23:34 It's on the screen. 23:36 And the question is, 23:38 what does the Bible teach us about the truth? 23:39 Let's read this together. 23:41 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, 23:44 the truth, and the life. 23:47 No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" 23:51 Now let's take up a minute or so with this one. 23:54 Who's the truth, somebody tell me? 23:56 Jesus is. 23:57 So we're gonna see 23:59 that you can't get to the Father, 24:00 except you go through Jesus. 24:02 But let me go to the next level. 24:04 You can't get to the Father except 24:05 you go through the truth. 24:08 Okay, would you get that because if Jesus is the truth, 24:11 and you can't get to the Father 24:13 except you go through Jesus, 24:14 you can't get to the Father except 24:16 you go through the truth. 24:19 So it's not just Jesus the person, 24:22 but Jesus also the principle. 24:25 You cannot separate truth from Jesus. 24:28 And I wanna go to John Chapter 4, 24:29 go there with me. 24:31 This is a challenge in modern Christianity 24:34 because modern Christianity 24:36 has kind of kicked the truth out, 24:38 and somebody may say, "We really haven't done so." 24:40 But if you meet people that say, 24:42 it doesn't really matter what you believe, 24:43 as long as we, as long as we believe in Jesus. 24:45 That's not what this text just said, am I right? 24:49 We cannot get to the Father except through Jesus 24:51 and Jesus is the truth. 24:53 So therefore, we've got to go 24:54 through the truth to get to Jesus. 24:57 You cannot get to Jesus through a lie. 25:02 Can't, cannot. 25:03 So if it's not true, you're not going... 25:06 You can't go through that to the Father. 25:09 You can't do it. 25:10 And by the way, the reason why we read 25:12 John Chapter 14, 25:13 is Jesus, in fact, was returning to heaven 25:16 to prepare a place for His disciples, 25:18 for all of those He's gonna come back to receive 25:20 when He returns. 25:22 But He says... 25:23 So the question is, how are we gonna get there? 25:25 And they said, "You know the way, 25:28 but you can go right now." 25:30 So let me just tell you how you're gonna get there. 25:32 First of all, I am the way and I'm going to the Father 25:36 and you can't get there right now. 25:37 But if you're gonna get there, you got to go through Me 25:40 and you got to go through the truth, right? 25:44 But the problem with modern Christianity nowadays, 25:47 everything has been modified down to worship style, 25:51 worship experience, worship atmosphere, 25:55 worship music, and I wanna show you 25:58 what worship really is. 25:59 John Chapter 4. 26:01 Let's go to worship. 26:02 John 4:22, 23, and 24. 26:09 This is what Jesus I suppose would say, 26:11 if He were walking around from city to city, 26:14 going to churches that they say, 26:16 "Well, we teach the truth." 26:18 And this very conversation would come up. 26:21 Notice what Jesus said. 26:22 And by the way, this is between Jesus 26:24 and the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, 26:28 or the woman of Samaria. 26:31 He said to her, 26:33 "You worship what you do not know, 26:37 we know what we worship, 26:39 for salvation is of the Jews." 26:41 Jesus is in essence, saying, as you read 26:43 in the Book of Acts Chapter 13, He said it was necessary 26:47 that the gospel first be given to the Jews, 26:49 and that there will be a light to the Gentiles, 26:51 and to the uttermost parts of the earth. 26:53 So at this particular point, 26:55 the message that God entrusted to the Jews 26:57 was still among the Jews, but they were talking... 26:59 We have a different place to worship. 27:01 And Jesus says, "You worship what you do not know." 27:03 But notice what He went on further to say in verse 23. 27:06 He says, "But the hour is coming, 27:08 and now is, when the," what kind of worshiper? 27:15 "True worshiper will worship the Father in spirit and truth, 27:21 for the Father is seeking, looking, 27:24 searching for such to worship Him. 27:27 God is Spirit, and those who worship God 27:30 should worship in spirit and truth." 27:34 What's the word? 27:35 Say it together. 27:37 Must. 27:38 He didn't say should, or could, or might, or that's a good idea 27:42 because people today... 27:44 Satan has so blinded the minds of many leaders 27:47 in the Christian world, that they say, 27:49 "Well, if that works for you, this works for me." 27:53 I had a pastor once say to me, "I have my truth. 27:55 You have your truth. 27:57 I have my text. 27:58 You have your texts." 27:59 You have your text to back up what you believe. 28:02 I have my text to back up what I believe. 28:03 And I said to him, "In all due respect, 28:05 you don't have any text, and neither do I have any text, 28:08 it's God's Word." 28:10 Amen? 28:11 And the Bible does not contradict itself. 28:15 But you'll discover the reason why we are 28:16 where we are today is no surprise. 28:18 Go with me to the Book of Daniel 8. 28:20 Daniel 8, where we are today is no surprise. 28:23 The Lord knew we would get here. 28:25 He knew that in the last days 28:28 the lukewarm condition of the church 28:33 will make the truth of God of optional origin 28:37 rather than of necessity, 28:39 but the truth of God is necessary, 28:40 isn't it necessary? 28:42 The truth of God is not optional 28:43 because Jesus is the way and the truth, 28:45 you cannot disconnect Jesus from the truth. 28:48 Look at Daniel 8. 28:50 Daniel 8, I wanna see verse 12. 28:53 Okay. 28:55 Talking about the little horn, and the little horn 28:57 we know represents the voice of papal Rome 29:01 in this particular prophecy, but look at one of the things 29:04 that this horn would do. 29:06 It says, "Because of," what? 29:09 "Transgression." 29:10 Now let me just stop before you read 29:11 the rest of the verse. 29:13 That's the reason why truth is being pushed out 29:14 because of transgression, because of sin. 29:17 Let's go on further. 29:18 It says, "Because of transgression, 29:20 an army was given over to the horn 29:23 to oppose the daily sacrifices," 29:28 and what did He do? 29:30 "He cast truth down to the ground. 29:35 And He did all this and prospered." 29:38 So you look at the prosperity nowadays 29:40 that many Christian churches have, 29:42 and you say, the prosperity gospel 29:45 and what have they done? 29:47 They've cast truth down to the ground, 29:49 and they've replaced it with the prosperity gospel. 29:52 Isn't that an amazing text? 29:54 It brings us right up to today. 29:56 Satan was doing this from the entrance 29:58 of the Dark Ages. 29:59 As a matter of fact, way further back than that, 30:02 from the Garden of Eden, he told a lie. 30:04 And Jesus said, "He's the father of lies." 30:07 And in heaven he told a lie. 30:08 Thank you very much, honey. 30:10 That was, honey is my wife by the way. 30:13 Since it's on air, yes, he lied in heaven. 30:17 He misrepresented God there. 30:19 He misrepresented the truth of God in the earth. 30:21 He misrepresented God in the Garden of Eden. 30:23 And through this power that's foretold here. 30:26 It's amazing how the casting down of the truth 30:29 is also connected with temporary prosperity. 30:32 So thus we have nowadays this thing in Christianity 30:34 called the prosperity gospel. 30:37 And it really pains me when I hear them 30:39 use Bible verses to their own benefit. 30:42 For example, just a moment ago, I used one, given, 30:45 it shall be given unto you. 30:46 Didn't I use that? 30:48 Pressed down, shaken together, running over, 30:50 but many use that just for personal gain. 30:53 So they say, if you give to this ministry, 30:55 God will double and triple. 30:57 And the reason why you don't have is 30:58 because you don't sow the seed of faith. 31:02 And I thought, if I hear the word 31:04 sow the seed again, which is in fact in the Bible, 31:07 but used in a self-serving way, 31:09 it just kind of makes you upset when people are 31:11 casting the truth to the ground 31:16 and still talking about prosperity. 31:18 It's amazing, that text fit 31:19 so much into the context of today. 31:22 And so what happens is we see 31:23 the financially prosperous side of Christianity. 31:26 And we often connect` 31:27 the legitimate scriptural side to that. 31:31 You can be a good businessman, but not embrace the truth. 31:37 We have Fortune 500 companies. 31:39 We have companies 31:41 that are multibillion dollar companies. 31:44 You got Toyota, and Microsoft, and Apple, 31:46 and the list goes on and on and on and on. 31:48 They're not teaching Bible at their companies, 31:51 but they're very prosperous. 31:52 So you don't have to have a prosperous business model. 31:55 Or matter of fact, let me say it again. 31:57 Even if you have a prosperous business model, 31:59 it does not necessarily mean you're lifting the truth up. 32:04 The Lord knew that we would get here. 32:06 Look at another text, Isaiah 59. 32:09 Isaiah 59. 32:12 He knew we would be at this place. 32:14 That's why before we dive into the T-R-U-T-H-S, 32:19 I want us to get to the T-R-U-T-H. 32:22 Isaiah 59. 32:24 And let's see. 32:28 Okay, yeah. 32:31 Isaiah 59, look at verse 14. 32:34 These prophets knew where we would be. 32:39 And I wanna show you once again, 32:40 just like we read, in Daniel 8, we're gonna see 32:44 that the foundation of this text 32:46 again is about transgression. 32:48 Look at verse 12, Isaiah 59:12. 32:53 Then we're gonna jump down to verse 14. 32:56 All right. 32:57 It says, "For our," what? 33:00 "Transgressions are multiplied before You, 33:03 and our sins," do what? 33:04 "Testify against us, 33:06 for our transgressions are with us, 33:09 and as for our iniquities, we know them. 33:12 In transgression and," what else? 33:14 "Lying against the Lord, and departing from our God, 33:19 speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering 33:24 from the heart words of," what? 33:27 "Falsehood." 33:28 Look at the result. 33:30 "Justice is turned back, 33:32 and righteousness stands afar off, 33:35 for truth is," what? 33:37 "Fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter. 33:41 So truth fails, and he who departs 33:44 from evil makes himself a prey. 33:47 Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him 33:50 that there was no justice." 33:53 So you begin to see here that the reason for this 33:55 what happens with the truth, it's what? 33:58 It's fallen in the street. 34:00 In what streets? 34:01 The streets of spiritual Babylon. 34:03 Babylon is fallen, all these institutions 34:06 around the world that claim 34:08 to have a connection with Christ, 34:10 if they are not standing on the truth, 34:12 the Bible in essence is saying 34:14 is the truth has been cast down. 34:16 The truth is fallen in the streets. 34:18 So is truth important, with a hearty amen say yes. 34:22 It's important. 34:24 And somebody may say, "Well, I mean, 34:25 I know what you're saying your denomination. 34:27 I know that. 34:28 I know that not everybody who watches this program 34:30 is a Seventh-day Adventist." 34:31 But somebody may say, "I love the Lord." 34:33 Matter of fact, we met a young lady in Australia, 34:38 and I'm kind of be vague on the story. 34:40 But she's a traditional. 34:45 She's connected to a church that was started 34:47 in her family generations ago. 34:50 And when she met my wife, 34:51 she said, her husband's a member of the church 34:56 and she's a member of another church. 34:57 And she said, "Well, I'll never be an Adventist." 35:00 I mean, I'll just never be an Adventist. 35:03 Why? 35:04 And I said to her, "Why would you say that?" 35:05 When she said, "Well, I had a family member 35:07 that started a church years ago. 35:10 And it's been in my family." 35:11 I said, "Well, how long has that church, 35:13 how long ago was that church started?" 35:15 She said, "More than 100 years ago. 35:17 And it was passed on from generation 35:18 to generation to generation." 35:20 I said, "More than 100 years ago. 35:22 Do you drive the same car that 35:23 that member drove 100 years ago?" 35:25 No. 35:27 Are you getting run on horse and buggy? 35:28 No. 35:30 Did they have an internet connection? 35:31 Did they have a laptop? No. 35:32 I said, "Things change." 35:34 You cannot say that. 35:35 What they were accountable 35:36 for is what you are also accountable for, 35:39 you know more now than they did. 35:42 I said, "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit." 35:43 She said, "Well, of course, I do." 35:45 I said, "If you say you'll never be an Adventist." 35:49 I said, "I'm not saying that you need to be an 35:51 "Adventist" first." 35:52 I said, "You need to follow the truth." 35:55 And if it lead you to be an Adventist, 35:57 that's where God wants you to be. 35:58 I said, "Well, personally that sounds 36:00 like a prejudicial statement because I am an Adventist. 36:03 But I wouldn't be 36:04 if this was not where the truth was." 36:06 Can anybody else say amen? 36:07 I wouldn't be this 36:08 if this is not where the truth was. 36:10 As my good friend Doug Batchelor said, 36:12 "I am not interested in joining a church. 36:14 I'm looking for the truth. 36:16 And this is the place where I found it. 36:18 That's why I'm here." 36:19 So I said to her, not promised but I said, 36:22 "I want you to think about this very carefully 36:23 because the Holy Spirit 36:25 who you say you believe in his job, 36:27 and John 16:13, is to lead you 36:29 and guide you into all truth." 36:33 So if you say you believe in the Holy Spirit, 36:36 I said, "Do you believe in the Sabbath?" 36:38 Well, kind of dance around that one. 36:40 Well, you know, I love the Lord. 36:42 I tell you, if I could hit a person on the forehead 36:46 with a rubber mallet every time I heard that, 36:48 there'd be a lot of dizzy people in the world. 36:51 I love the Lord, beep. 36:53 Let me ask you the question again. 36:55 Do you believe in the truth? 36:56 Well, I love the Lord. 36:58 Well, if you love the Lord would you the hate the truth? 37:02 You cannot. 37:04 You cannot love the Lord and not like the truth. 37:07 You cannot. 37:08 It just doesn't even make sense. 37:10 Let's go on and see why? 37:13 Let's go on and see why? 37:14 Question number two. 37:15 You can't love the Lord and not love the truth. 37:17 It just doesn't make sense. 37:18 It almost says, so you love the Lord, 37:22 and you don't love the truth. 37:23 Nah, you don't love the Lord, you just saying that. 37:27 There are those 37:29 who have a love relationship with Christ. 37:31 And what I'm appealing to them for is this. 37:36 Pray this prayer. 37:37 As I did a number of years ago, 37:39 I encouraged a lady 37:40 whose husband was getting baptized 37:41 and she had already attended 37:43 the church for many, many years. 37:44 And she said to me, "Pastor, I love the Lord." 37:47 And I said, "You know what? I know you love the Lord. 37:49 That's why He's allowed the truth to come to you now." 37:53 And she said, "But I don't think 37:56 the Sabbath is that much of an issue. 37:57 I mean, I've been serving the Lord for..." 38:00 And she mentioned how many years, I said, 38:01 "But the reason why God has brought this to you 38:04 is because He knows you love Him." 38:07 There are those who sincerely love the Lord. 38:09 But pray this prayer. 38:10 Lord, Lord, teach me to love You 38:14 and love Your Word. 38:16 Amen, somebody. 38:18 Don't just say I love you only up to John 14:14. 38:25 I don't love you up to John 14:15. 38:28 I love You till John 14:14. 38:30 But when you get to John 14:15, if you love me what? 38:33 Keep My commandments. Ah, don't give me that one. 38:37 I read that text to somebody once and he said, 38:39 "Well, that's your interpretation." 38:41 I said, "You read it." 38:44 Read it. Tell me what you get out of it. 38:45 Read it slowly. 38:48 And they couldn't get anything out 38:49 of but what the Bible says, 38:51 isn't that one so short. 38:53 If you love Me, come on how do you say that? 38:57 Keep My commandments. 38:58 He didn't say keep My commandments 38:59 and then you love Me. 39:01 If you love Me, keep My commandments. 39:02 So it's a wonderful thing. 39:04 Look at the question, second question, 39:06 "What importance does the Bible connect 39:10 to knowing the Truth? 39:11 And by the way, I put it in the right context now, 39:13 the capital T. 39:15 We're gonna go to John 8:32. 39:18 John 8:32. 39:20 That's where we're gonna go. 39:22 We talked about victory in Jesus. 39:23 There's also something else you find in Jesus, John 8:32. 39:28 Are you all there? 39:29 Okay, let's look at the text together. 39:32 All right, the Bible says, "And you shall know the truth, 39:37 and the truth shall," do what? 39:40 "Make you free." 39:42 Now, when Jesus was speaking this to the Jews, 39:48 they were saying to Him, 39:50 "You know, we are Abraham's descendants. 39:54 We have never been slaves." 39:57 And He kind of said, "Well, just because 40:01 you said that you are slaves, they were connecting 40:04 their freedom to a man Abraham." 40:08 Jesus was saying, freedom comes in Me. 40:12 Freedom is not found in a man. 40:15 Freedom is not found in an institution. 40:18 Freedom is found in who? 40:20 Found in Jesus. 40:22 But notice what He says, "You shall know the truth 40:24 and the truth shall," do what? 40:26 Let's make sure and use the word make 40:28 because the word is not set. 40:31 You see, set and make is two different things. 40:36 Let me give you some examples. 40:37 There are many people that were incarcerated, 40:40 and they were set free. 40:42 That's a singular act, 40:44 but because they were not made free 40:46 in their behavior, 40:48 and in their walk, and in their life, 40:50 they ended up in bondage again. 40:52 Jesus didn't come 40:53 just to save us in a single act. 40:57 He came to keep us in that walk with Him, 41:00 He came to keep us in the relationship with Him 41:02 so that we're not just saved, 41:04 sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost. 41:07 But we walk with Him. 41:08 We have a made free relationship. 41:11 And when you think about, the Bible says thus the heavens 41:14 and the earth were finished, and all the hosts of them. 41:19 In six days the Lord made? 41:21 He did what? 41:22 Did He set the heavens and the earth 41:23 or did He make the heavens and the earth? 41:25 He made them. 41:27 It's a process from the first day 41:29 to the sixth day He made. 41:31 On the seventh day He completed. 41:35 It's an entire process. 41:37 So to be made free is a process. 41:39 It has a beginning point, it has a continuation 41:42 and the ending point is when the Lord comes 41:44 and seals us in His righteousness. 41:46 So when you know the truth, the truth makes you free. 41:49 And here's what I'm talking about that. 41:51 There are those who have come to... 41:53 Well, let me give a wonderful example here. 41:54 We were having an evangelistic series 41:56 in Vallejo, California, it was years ago, this is 1987. 42:01 And there was a man that sat on the front row every night. 42:05 He was a member of a different denomination. 42:07 And when we got to the topic, guess what the subject was? 42:10 Somebody guess. 42:12 No, we always think is that one. 42:14 I just can't. I want you to see that. 42:16 The topic was about hellfire. 42:19 The topic was about hellfire. 42:22 And he had been taught that the wicked burn forever. 42:27 And he had a friend that died in a terrible way, 42:32 died in a gun battle with police officers. 42:35 And he said, "Oh." 42:36 He said, "I've since then become a Christian. 42:38 But I'm so... 42:40 I mean, my friend has been in the fires of hell, 42:43 ever since he died." 42:45 And when that topic was completed, 42:48 he came to Pastor Batchelor and I and he said, 42:52 you know, tonight I was, I felt a sense of freedom 42:55 that I never felt before. 42:57 And we said what? 42:58 He said, "For the first time 43:00 the pain in my heart for my friend 43:02 that I have been thinking was in the fires of hell 43:05 has been removed. 43:07 Because I discovered tonight that the wicked are 43:10 not in hell right now burning 43:12 and they will not be burning forever 43:14 and ever and ever." 43:16 And he said, "That is oh, man that makes me 43:18 feel so much different." 43:20 You know what happened that night? 43:21 He was made free, free of the burden. 43:25 And there are some people. 43:26 Matter of fact, a man 43:27 by the name of Robert Ingersoll, 43:29 one of the reasons he became an atheist 43:30 because of that very teaching, that infants, 43:33 this was taught that infants were tormented 43:35 if they were not set free from limbo. 43:37 If they did not remove them from limbo for 30 days, 43:40 as was taught during the Dark Ages, 43:41 that infant would burn endlessly in the fires of hell. 43:46 And he said, 43:47 "How could a loving God torment babies endlessly." 43:52 He said, "That is God I will never serve." 43:55 But I'm glad to know 43:57 that the truth is when we are in Christ, 43:58 we are made free. 44:00 Amen. 44:01 So here's, why do we have 28 fundamentals? 44:04 Every fundamental that you learn, 44:06 that's connected to Bible, you are made free, 44:09 you are made free. 44:11 You are made free. 44:13 Your entire walk with Christ 44:14 is the walk that makes you free. 44:16 He said, "I no longer have to worry about my loved ones 44:19 in heaven now looking down on me, 44:21 oh, I'm so free right now. 44:22 Because mom is really upset if she's watching 44:24 my life right now." 44:26 The truth of the matter is she's resting in her grave. 44:27 Amen? 44:29 And so that's why we're tackling these topics. 44:31 First of all, the truth is Jesus. 44:33 But then He also says, "You cannot get to the Father 44:34 except you go through Me and you go through the truth. 44:37 If you know the truth, you are made free." 44:39 And what we are attempting to do in this upcoming series 44:42 or the series that we just began tonight, 44:45 is to free individuals. 44:46 Say that word free. 44:48 There are a lot of people that are bound in darkness. 44:52 But they need to be set free and the only thing 44:55 that could set them free, as Jesus says, 44:57 "You shall know the truth and the truth shall," what? 45:00 "Make you free." Jesus sets us free. 45:03 The truth makes us free. 45:07 A freedom, a victory found in Christ. 45:09 Look at the third one. 45:11 Question number three. 45:15 "Where are we told that 45:16 we must look to find the truth?" 45:19 Where are we told that we must look to find the truth? 45:23 Okay. 45:26 This is beautiful. 45:28 This is wonderful. 45:30 Go to John 1. 45:32 John 1. 45:37 And by the way, what importance 45:39 does the Bible connect to knowing the truth? 45:40 Freedom. 45:42 Write that down. Freedom. 45:44 Freedom. 45:47 What importance does the Bible connect to truth? 45:51 Freedom. 45:53 Yeah, knowing the truth makes you really clear 45:54 in your mind, your mind is free. 45:58 Okay, here it is. 46:00 John 1, question is, where we told that 46:04 we must look to find the truth? 46:06 Here it is. 46:08 And the Bible says, "And the Word became," what? 46:10 "Flesh and," did what? 46:13 "Dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, 46:17 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father," 46:22 and I want us to say this one together, 46:24 what is He full of? 46:25 "Full of grace and," what else? "Truth." 46:28 You know what that says there, 46:30 instead of saying He's full of grace and truth, 46:32 you know, a glass could be full of juice. 46:34 That's not what this is saying. 46:35 Oh, you get this is huge. 46:37 This is massive. 46:38 Let me tell the story. 46:39 In Trinidad, there's a Pitch Lake. 46:42 What did I say? Pitch. 46:43 You know, pitch is, the stuff that you tar streets with, 46:46 you know, all the blacktop. 46:47 And every time they dig from this pit, 46:50 it just fills back up. 46:52 And they've been taking pitch. 46:54 If you're in Trinidad, you know what I'm talking about. 46:55 They've been taking pitch from this, 46:57 from this Pitch Lake for it seems like 46:59 generations, possibly centuries. 47:02 Every time they dig it, what happens? 47:04 It fills back up. 47:06 That's what this text means, full of grace and truth. 47:09 That means Jesus is the source of grace and truth. 47:13 He doesn't have a cup 47:15 where somebody poured grace into Him 47:16 or poured truth in Him, He is the very source of it. 47:19 Can you say amen to that? 47:21 He's a source of it. 47:22 In other words, it comes from Him. 47:24 It originated from Him. 47:26 So here's the beautiful thing about that text. 47:28 We are saved by what? 47:30 Grace. So Jesus is full of grace. 47:35 "The grace of God that bringeth salvation 47:38 has appeared to all men." 47:41 How could the grace of God appear to all men? 47:44 Like the Pitch Lake, 47:45 every time somebody needs grace, 47:46 there's more available, right? 47:50 Every time somebody needs grace, 47:52 there's more available. 47:53 You can never get to the place 47:54 where God doesn't have any grace left. 47:59 You will never get to the Pitch Lake and say, 48:01 is there any more pitch? 48:03 Oh, I don't know. 48:04 And it seems like some people have said to me, 48:07 when they harvest or excavate the pitch 48:10 from the lake, given about two 48:12 or three days they go back to the spot 48:14 where they took the pitch from and it's just right back up. 48:18 Like there was never a dent because they have no idea 48:22 how deep into the earth, the sources actually go. 48:26 In the very same way we have no idea how deep, 48:30 how deep in Christ the truth is, 48:33 how deep in Christ the grace is so embedded, 48:37 He is the source of it. 48:38 You can't break off His grace. 48:41 You can't break off the truth. 48:42 You cannot separate truth and grace from Christ. 48:44 For those who are saved by grace, 48:46 I want you to also add this because some person may say, 48:49 "Well, I'm saved by grace. 48:50 Why do I need the truth?" 48:52 Bulletin, look at the text. 48:55 Christ is not just full of grace, 48:57 but He's also full of what? 48:58 Truth. 49:00 Once again, where we told that we must look to find the truth? 49:03 Write down, Jesus. 49:06 And notice what it says the Word became flesh, 49:08 we look to Christ, we look to His Word, 49:11 the Word became flesh, 49:13 the word, it is not just the spoken word, 49:15 but it's also the what? 49:17 The written Word. 49:20 He spake and it was done, 49:21 He commanded, and it stood fast. 49:24 It was not the, just a visible word 49:27 that was involved in creation, but He spoke the spoken word, 49:31 and also from the spoken word, we have the what? 49:33 Written Word, right? 49:36 You cannot find the truth outside of Christ. 49:38 And you cannot find 49:40 that the Word of God is not important. 49:42 The Word of God is the foundation. 49:44 It is the place where we find truth today, 49:46 first in Christ, then in His Word, 49:49 and then when you look in the Word, 49:51 what do you find there? 49:52 What do you find there? 49:54 I wanna just extract a little bit 49:55 more from the text. 49:56 What do you find 49:58 when you keep your mind set on the word? 50:00 What do you see? 50:03 Say it, I heard somebody say it. 50:05 You begin to see the glory of God. 50:08 If you look in the Word of God, what is the message today, 50:11 fear God and give what? 50:13 Glory to Him. 50:14 You find the glory of God is revealed in His Word. 50:18 It's magnificent. 50:19 Matter of fact, when people are battling with darkness, 50:22 the story is told about a man who had been locked 50:24 in solitary confinement 50:25 for an indefinite period of time. 50:27 And when they opened the cell, he was still in his right mind, 50:30 and they wondered how that happened. 50:32 And what they noticed on the wall of the cell, 50:35 all they saw was scriptures. 50:37 He just found a little stone in the cell. 50:39 And he just wrote all the Bible verses 50:41 he could remember. 50:42 And he read them over 50:44 and over and over and over again. 50:46 Can you say amen to that? 50:48 You see, even in solitary confinement, 50:50 the Word of God can keep you sane. 50:53 The Word of God can keep your mind clear. 50:56 So don't ever say that I'm saved by grace,` 50:59 but I don't need the truth, if you're saved by grace 51:02 that is by grace through faith in Christ alone, 51:05 but with that package of grace 51:07 comes a package of truth. 51:09 So it really does matter. 51:11 So the answer is, 51:13 where are we told that we must look to find truth? 51:15 In God's Word and look to Jesus. 51:18 You cannot look to Jesus or look to His Word. 51:20 You have to look to Jesus and His word 51:23 because He is the Word personified. 51:26 All right, number four, let's go to that one. 51:29 Number four. 51:31 Okay, beautiful now. 51:35 "How are Christians supposed to relate to the truth?" 51:39 Well, I'm getting hungry. 51:43 I'm getting hungry for the truth, 51:45 but I'm getting hungry for physical food. 51:47 Because my body clock is like all over the place. 51:50 What time is it supposed to be? 51:51 Well, let's say, forget about it, 51:53 if you're in Australia, you know what I mean, right? 51:55 Here we are. 51:56 How are Christians supposed to relate to the truth? 52:00 All right, John 5:33. 52:04 And most of you are already there. 52:06 That's why you sitting there quiet. 52:08 Wait for me. 52:09 Here we are. Here it is on the screen. 52:13 "You have sent to John, and he has," done what? 52:18 "Borne," what? 52:20 Witness to the truth. 52:24 See, now, you know the answer. 52:29 How are Christians supposed to relate to the truth? 52:32 We are to do what, my brothers and sisters? 52:35 Witness to the truth. Witness to the truth. 52:40 I sat down with the pastor once and he kept asking questions 52:43 and I'd always answer the questions 52:44 with a Bible verse. 52:46 And he would say to me, 52:48 "Could you just give me your answer?" 52:49 And I said, "No, I can't give you my answer. 52:51 I got to give you the Bible." Amen. 52:53 Because that's where the foundation of authority 52:55 comes from. 52:56 You cannot give our answers. 52:57 So the reason why we use the Word of God, 53:00 I also know, I was just speaking to a young Asian girl 53:03 who had been involved in a search for the truth. 53:08 She was an intense partier. 53:10 She comes from an Asian family 53:12 in which nobody else in her family 53:15 has accepted the truth. 53:16 She tried to find her place in the world, 53:19 and God deeply involved in the nightlife 53:21 and the partying, looking for satisfaction, 53:24 and it just would never satisfy. 53:26 And so, she was so much enjoyed that world. 53:29 She tried to go from church to church 53:31 to denomination to denomination to find that 53:33 if she can find a church, and I understand that 53:35 because that's what I did. 53:37 Try to find a place where she could 53:38 still live her own life 53:40 and still be saved. 53:42 And the thing that really opened her mind was, 53:44 she said, whenever she would ask a question, 53:46 or she would hear a question asked, 53:48 people would give their own opinion. 53:50 But once she was invited to an Adventist Church 53:53 and she noticed whenever the questions were asked, 53:58 they would open the Bible 54:00 and they would answer the question 54:01 from the Bible. 54:03 And then she went home. 54:05 Matter of fact, to be specific about it, 54:07 David Asscherick was preaching a sermon on Daniel 2. 54:11 And she was at that, she was sitting in the back, 54:13 she didn't really wanna get too involved, 54:15 her friend had just persuaded her to go. 54:20 And David Asscherick was preaching on Daniel 2, 54:21 the prophecies of Daniel Chapter 2. 54:24 And he went from prophecy to prophecy to prophecy, 54:27 from point to point to point in everything in the Bible, 54:30 all the references, everything from Bible 54:33 and also extra biblical resources, 54:36 and she was writing them down as fast as he said them. 54:39 And she went home being a teacher, 54:41 she went home and did her research. 54:43 She went on the internet and searched all the sources 54:46 and she said everything he said was right. 54:50 And then she said, "Okay, 54:51 I found it, this is where I'm supposed to be." 54:53 You know, why? 54:54 Not because they had a great choir 54:56 because all the other places that she had gone 54:57 had wonderful programs, wonderful community outreach 55:00 and we also ought to be involved in community outreach. 55:04 But community outreach or a nice edifice 55:06 or wonderful music program, or great daycare 55:08 is not the reason why we join a particular place. 55:11 We joined it because 55:12 that's where the truth is found. 55:14 That's where the, what is found? 55:15 The truth is found. 55:16 When you find the truth, 55:18 all those things should accompany that. 55:19 That's why earlier, in Matthew 25, 55:21 those who are involved in the truth 55:23 would feed the hungry, clothe the naked, 55:25 visit the sick, be involved in prison ministry, 55:28 and all these things are true about those who are following 55:30 in the footsteps of Jesus, right? 55:33 But those things are not omitted. 55:35 And this is why I wanna make this point 55:36 very carefully. 55:38 Some people may say, "We've been feeding 55:40 the homeless for 25 years. 55:43 So don't come in here talking about the truth. 55:46 We've been living out our Christianity." 55:48 That's wonderful. 55:49 That's beautiful. 55:51 But go with me to Matthew Chapter 7. 55:53 That's beautiful. 55:54 That's what the Lord wants us to do. 55:56 But don't ever think that your works are sufficient 55:59 to omit the truth of God's Word, 56:02 am I telling the truth? 56:03 And I've kind of like a... 56:05 Oh, you got it. Look at Matthew 7. 56:08 It's important to be involved in good works. 56:10 And by the way, 56:12 the answer to question number four is, 56:13 we should witness to the truth. 56:15 we should be witnesses of the truth. 56:17 But here's why it's important not to just be content. 56:20 Matthew 7:21-23. 56:23 It's important not just to be content 56:24 with great programs, 56:26 but you have to have the great programs 56:28 in the context of not omitting the truth, 56:33 as it is taught in the Word of God. 56:35 Here it is. Jesus said this. 56:37 He says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 56:39 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven," 56:41 verse 21, "but he who does," what? 56:45 "Does the will of My Father in heaven. 56:48 Many will say to Me in that day," 56:50 this is the community service verse. 56:52 "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name?" 56:55 Lot of people call themselves prophets, 56:58 "And cast out demons in Your name." 57:00 Lot of people say they could cast out demons, 57:03 "And done many wonderful works." 57:04 The list goes on and on and on and on, 57:06 community services, outreach, missionary projects, 57:09 building centers, putting up tents, 57:11 building schools and churches for people 57:13 that are less fortunate. 57:14 Yes, you've done all that stuff, 57:15 and you've done it in My name. 57:17 But what did He say? 57:19 "Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you, 57:21 depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" 57:24 Why did He say they never knew Him? 57:26 Because you cannot know Jesus and not know the truth. 57:30 Because He says, I am the way and what else, my friends? 57:32 The truth and the life. 57:34 You cannot say I know Jesus, 57:36 but I don't need to know the truth. 57:38 So I guess you can see right now, 57:40 this is gonna be an exciting series 57:42 because we're basing it on knowing Jesus 57:44 and knowing the truth, 57:46 not only the truth, Jesus, 57:47 but the truth about Jesus. 57:50 And as you stay with us and we go from topic to topic, 57:53 you'll discover that 57:54 if it doesn't make sense right now, 57:56 if it doesn't seem clear enough to you, 57:57 if it doesn't seem important, hang around long enough, 57:59 and it will come into A Sharper Focus. 58:02 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-09-10