Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000060
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00:20 Hello, friends, and welcome to another Wednesday night
00:23 Bible study here at 3ABN Worship Center. 00:26 It's hot, that is, outside it's hot and inside, 00:29 we are waiting for the Lord to warm us up. 00:32 Can all of God's people say amen to that? 00:34 Amen. Thank you for tuning in. 00:36 I know that people... 00:37 As we travel around the world, people say, 00:39 "Hey, I watch Wednesday night." 00:41 We get that from people in Australia, 00:44 people in California, 00:46 other parts of the nation down in Florida, in New York. 00:49 Everywhere we go, people say, 00:51 "Keep up sharing the Word of God. 00:53 We are tuning in." 00:55 Sometimes, we get emails about comments 00:57 or sometimes people call and they say, 00:59 "I need extra lessons." 01:00 So we want to just thank you very much for being supportive 01:03 of this program because we do believe 01:05 that the most important thing is to know 01:07 the truth of God's Word. 01:10 So what you're going to need tonight is your Bible. 01:12 If you'd like to get a copy of the lesson, 01:14 go to the following website, asf.3abn.org. 01:20 Don't put www, you won't find it. 01:23 asf.3abn.org, and download for tonight, 01:27 lesson number 18, 01:29 and then we're going to begin lesson number 19. 01:32 And the new thing we've started with is 01:34 how to know the truth about the truth 01:37 and we always want to know the truth of God's Word. 01:40 We've transitioned out of how to live 01:42 a spiritual life in a natural body, 01:44 which was all about the nature that we receive 01:47 when we follow the Lord with sanctification, 01:50 justification, glorification, what they all are. 01:54 And so at that very same website, 01:56 if you've missed any of the studies, 01:57 download the lessons 01:59 and you can also see the videos, 02:00 the links are there also. 02:02 But now invite your family and friends, 02:04 if you're joining us from a church, 02:05 welcome, but we're going to pray right now 02:06 and ask for the Lord to bless 02:08 and then we're going to sing our theme song, 02:10 Victory in Jesus. 02:11 Let's pray together. 02:12 Our Father in heaven, 02:14 we thank You for Your goodness to us. 02:16 We cannot overestimate how good You are. 02:20 We really won't know until eternity rolls to see 02:23 the many times that You have been 02:25 there for us in our lives 02:27 over our shoulders as we study the Bible, 02:30 Your Holy Spirit impressing our minds to expand 02:32 and understand Your will and Your Word for our lives. 02:36 And so tonight, we invite You again 02:38 to be the active agent, to be the one to teach us. 02:41 Lord, send Your Holy Spirit that He may lead us, 02:44 that He may guide us that we may understand 02:47 the truth of Your Word and in that study 02:49 that we may find a closer walk with Christ. 02:52 This is our prayer, in Jesus' name we pray. 02:55 Amen. 02:56 Join us on our song, Victory in Jesus. 03:09 I heard an old, old story 03:13 How the Savior came from glory 03:17 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:21 To save a wretch like me 03:25 I heard about His groaning 03:28 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:32 Then I repented of my sins 03:36 And won the victory 03:40 O victory in Jesus 03:43 My Savior, forever 03:47 He sought me and bought me 03:51 With His redeeming blood 03:55 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:58 And all my love is due Him 04:02 He plunged me to victory 04:06 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:10 I heard about a mansion 04:14 He has built for me in glory 04:17 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:21 Beyond the crystal sea 04:25 About the angels singing 04:29 And the old redemption story 04:33 And some sweet day 04:34 I'll sing up there That song of victory 04:38 Okay, Andy, key change. 04:40 O victory in Jesus 04:44 My Savior, forever 04:48 He sought me and bought me 04:51 With His redeeming blood 04:55 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:59 And all my love is due Him 05:03 He plunged me to victory 05:07 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:10 He plunged me to victory 05:14 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:21 Can you say amen to that? 05:22 Amen. Amen. 05:25 Tonight as we continue in our study 05:27 "How to know the truth about the Truth," 05:31 We will go on to this sub theme, 05:33 "How to know the truth." 05:35 You know, a lot of times, 05:37 people think about the truth of God's Word 05:40 but they think of the small T-R-U-T-H, 05:45 not the large T-R-U-T-H, 05:49 and you may be wondering, 05:51 "Well, what's the difference between the small truth 05:53 and the large truth?" 05:54 Well, the reason why the title had it written 05:57 "How to know the T-R-U-T-H small T, 06:00 about the T-R-U-T-H large T 06:03 is that until you know Jesus, all that you learn in the Bible 06:08 will be just a source of gathering information. 06:11 The Lord wants us to know Him first. 06:13 Can you say amen to that? 06:15 So when you know the person... 06:16 I heard a story that was really interesting. 06:18 It just came to my mind right now. 06:19 It's amazing how they come back when we need them. 06:22 Story of a young lady who had gone to dinner 06:24 with a young man 06:25 and they just went out for their first time together 06:29 and getting to know each other, 06:31 finding out their likes and dislikes. 06:33 She said to him, "What do you like to do?" 06:35 And he described to her his hobbies 06:38 and the ways he spent his time and she said... 06:42 And he asked her, "What do you like to do?" 06:43 And she's like, "Well, I like to read." 06:44 She said, "Well, right now 06:46 I'm reading this very boring book. 06:48 It just, ah, boring means, just bores me." 06:52 And he said, "What's it about?" And she told him the title. 06:56 He said, "Well, what's the name of the author?" 06:57 And she told him the name of the author and he says, 07:01 "I'm sorry to say that's my book. 07:02 I wrote that book." 07:05 And you know what? 07:07 When she went home and read that book, 07:09 the very next day you know what she said? 07:11 "That's the best book I've ever read." 07:13 What made the relationship? What made the difference? 07:16 I gave you the answer. What made the difference? 07:18 The relationship. 07:19 Knowing the person of the book 07:21 is the first step in loving the book, 07:24 ain't that right? 07:25 So if you're going to know the truth about the Sabbath, 07:27 about the state of the dead, about the second coming, 07:29 about what happens when you die, 07:31 all those things are very important, 07:32 but if you don't know the person of the book, 07:34 this book could be pretty frightening 07:36 because it's filled with plagues and judgments 07:39 and there are lots of terrible things 07:40 that could happen. 07:42 First of all in your mind, 07:43 there could be some agony there 07:45 if you don't know the truth about the truth. 07:47 And so this first study, 07:49 we're going to wind up on the last of five questions, 07:52 we began with question number one 07:56 all the way to four, and tonight, 07:57 we're going to begin with question number five. 08:00 So I want you to make one correction, 08:02 if you've downloaded that lesson, 08:04 just make one very quick correction 08:07 on question number seven. 08:08 I want you to make sure that you don't have Romans 6:4, 08:12 which you did have printed, but write down instead of that, 08:15 cross out Roman 6:4, 08:17 and put 3 John 1:4 for question number seven. 08:21 We'll get there together in just a moment. 08:24 But the most important thing 08:25 about learning the truth is knowing the person. 08:29 My wife and I used to write letters to each other. 08:32 We don't write them anymore 08:33 because we now live with each other. 08:36 But before we got married, 08:38 and she was away at college and I was in New York City, 08:41 I would write her letters to her school 08:43 and I would paint the front of the envelope 08:46 with all different kinds of colors 08:47 with a magic marker. 08:49 Back then I played a guitar. 08:51 Back then I played a guitar and so I had 08:53 all these different shaped guitar picks, 08:55 some triangle ones, heart shaped ones, 08:57 and oval shaped ones, 08:58 and I would shape those guitar picks, 08:59 fill them up with colors, 09:01 and spray the envelope with cologne. 09:04 So every time a letter came to her, 09:07 people would say, 09:08 "Angela, another letter for you." 09:10 'Cause it just stood out like a sore thumb 09:12 or I should say like a beautiful bouquet of flowers. 09:15 And that's what God's Word is like. 09:19 You know, the Word of God is a wonderful fragrance 09:23 to those of us who study the Word of God. 09:25 We should look forward to reading it, 09:27 we should look forward to receiving it. 09:28 So when we open our Bibles every Wednesday night 09:31 or wherever you are, if you're in Australia, 09:33 it's maybe Thursday afternoon, 09:35 when we open our Bibles together, 09:37 it's a time to understand 09:39 the sweet smelling fragrance of God's Word. 09:42 So let's begin tonight on question number five. 09:46 The title "How to know the truth about the truth," 09:48 the subtitle "How to know the truth," 09:50 But question number five 09:51 is where we're going to begin tonight. 09:53 And this is a very important question. 09:55 Let me tell you why. 09:56 Because many people say they love the Lord. 09:58 Have you heard that before? People say, "I love the Lord. 10:01 All that matters is that I love the Lord." 10:03 And what's happening nowadays is it's almost becoming 10:06 a replacement to following what God's Word says. 10:09 A person that may disagree with God's Word, 10:11 they may say, 10:12 "Well, all that matters is I love the Lord." 10:14 Well, that's why the question is framed in the way it is. 10:16 Here it is. 10:18 How can we know that someone loves the Lord? 10:21 How can we know that? 10:23 Let's go to the Book of 1 Corinthians 10:27 and we're going to go to Chapter 13. 10:30 For those of you who are students of the Bible, 10:33 you know that 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 10:35 is called what chapter? 10:37 The love chapter. 10:39 So if you're going to get an answer 10:40 about a question pertaining to love, 10:43 it surely is going to be in this chapter. 10:45 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. I'll open my Bible there. 10:49 I'm there. Yes, I am. Okay, here we are. 10:53 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. How can you know? 10:56 Now there are lots of answers in this verse, 10:58 but one of the key ones that I'm going to focus on 11:01 is found in verse 6. 11:03 Verse 6. Notice what the Bible says. 11:06 And it's going to be on our screen. 11:08 And, you know, 11:09 since it's our first scripture tonight, 11:10 I'd like all of us here at the local site 11:12 to read this together. 11:13 What's on the screen? Let's read it together. 11:15 "Does not rejoice in iniquity, 11:19 but rejoices in the truth." 11:23 Do they just bear the truth? 11:29 Do they just say, "Okay, that's the truth." 11:32 What does the text say when it comes to the truth? 11:34 They do what? They rejoice in the truth. 11:38 If somebody told you the truth... 11:39 And let me just give you an example. 11:42 Growing up in school, we all had combination locks. 11:44 Do any of you remember that? In the gymnasium? 11:47 Everybody had a combination lock 11:48 and whenever we went to gym for the first day of school, 11:51 the gym teacher would say, "Now make sure 11:52 you have your combination lock." 11:56 And what we used to try to do 11:57 is try to find out somebody else's combination number. 12:00 It's just a part of playing pranks 12:01 on people in school. 12:03 But if somebody found out your combination number, 12:06 it'd be terrible. 12:08 So people used to ask, "What's your combination?" 12:09 And we wouldn't tell them the truth. 12:11 But when they found out the truth 12:13 about somebody else's combination, they rejoiced. 12:15 "I got it. I know his number." They rejoiced in what? 12:19 The truth about his number. 12:22 Well, if you rejoice in something 12:23 that's so temporal, 12:25 should we not much more rejoice in the truth of God's Word? 12:27 Amen? We rejoice. 12:29 So the key is, we don't just say, 12:30 "Well, that's the truth. 12:32 It works for you, this works for me. 12:34 That's your belief, this is my belief. 12:37 That's what your church teaches, 12:38 this is what my church teaches." 12:40 No. 12:41 If it's from the Word of God 12:42 and the truth is revealed to us, 12:44 we should do what? 12:45 Say that word together, Rejoice in the truth. 12:49 And if you add to that, Paul the Apostle says, 12:51 "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice." 12:56 So rejoicing is very much a part of knowing the truth. 12:59 If somebody has a wonderful dinner 13:00 for you and they say, "This Thanksgiving, 13:03 there's going to be lots of desserts." 13:05 And you don't have the true directions to their house, 13:07 you won't be rejoicing. 13:10 Will you? No. 13:11 But when you find it, 13:13 you pull up in front of the house and say, 13:14 "I know this is the place. 13:16 I can smell the food." 13:18 Taste and see that the Lord is good. 13:22 The Word of God is food, it's the bread of life. 13:25 Jesus said, "I'm the bread that comes down from heaven." 13:28 His word also is the bread and He said, 13:31 "If He cast His bread upon the water, 13:33 it shall return after many days 13:34 and His word will not return unto Him void." 13:38 It will always accomplish what He sends it out to do. 13:41 So the answer there is, 13:42 how can we know that someone loves the truth? 13:44 They do what, my friends? They do what? 13:46 They rejoice in the truth. 13:48 Don't just rejoice 13:50 that you're a member of a church, 13:51 that's a dime a dozen nowadays. 13:53 Not everybody's telling the truth. 13:55 Matter of fact, I'm always researching something, 13:58 that's a problem I have. 13:59 I'm always trying to find out an answer 14:01 to some kind of dilemma, 14:03 and right now we're stuck into these new ages 14:06 finding its way into the Christian Church. 14:09 So instead of searching diligently 14:11 the scriptures for truth, 14:13 we've got gurus and life coach, teachers, 14:17 and psychologists and "bestselling" authors 14:22 all giving information to churches 14:24 and giving them ways to get a better financial plan, 14:27 how to have a good productive future, 14:29 how to get the career you've always wanted, 14:31 how to speak success into your life, 14:34 but that's not what the Lord is saying. 14:37 He says, "Those things will come 14:38 if you seek something else first." 14:40 Now let's go to the next one. 14:41 You'll see this. 14:43 Question number six. Question number six. 14:45 After accepting Jesus how do we learn the truth? 14:51 After accepting Jesus how do we learn the truth? 14:57 John 17:17. 15:01 Can't miss that one. 15:03 John 17:17. 15:07 Wonderful scripture. 15:08 And then I'm going to add an extra credit 15:11 one to that for you. 15:13 But John 17:17, there is a significant word 15:16 that leads into the verse that is synonymous 15:20 to what we studied prior to the topic 15:22 of how to know the truth about the truth. 15:25 John 17:17 reveals this. 15:29 What is the very first word? 15:31 "Sanctify them by Your truth." 15:35 Your what? 15:36 "Your word is truth." 15:39 Your word is truth. 15:41 First of all, in the beginning 15:42 was the word that's showing you how it works. 15:45 In the beginning was the word, the word was with God. 15:48 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 15:50 So that Word is who? Tell me. That's Jesus. 15:53 That's the big T, right? That's the big T. 15:57 But then now going to the other T, 16:01 not the insignificant T, 16:02 but the T that's connected to the big T, 16:04 the small T that's connected to the big T, right? 16:08 Picture that in your head. 16:11 Then He says, "I give you My word." 16:14 So whatever comes out of His mouth, 16:17 if it's coming from the truth, what is it? 16:20 It's truth. So it is. 16:22 He speaks... 16:23 Whatever He speaks is truth. So how do we learn the truth? 16:28 Whatever proceeds from the mouth of God 16:30 is the truth and this is the Word of God. 16:34 All scripture is given by inspiration of God 16:39 and is profitable. 16:40 Let's go to the Book of Timothy, okay? 16:43 So the answer there is, how can we... 16:46 After accepting Jesus how do we learn the truth? 16:49 By studying His Word. 16:52 It's amazing to me nowadays 16:53 there are some people that say... 16:57 I want to first go to 2 Timothy Chapter 4. 16:59 We're going to look at a couple of things. 17:01 2 Timothy Chapter 4 17:03 is the first place I want to go. 17:08 We're going to see in both 17:10 1 and 2 Timothy for a brief moment, 17:11 but we're going to first to 2 Timothy Chapter 4. 17:15 And the reason why this topic is so vitally important is 17:18 as Paul wrote to Timothy, 17:20 and Timothy recorded these words, 17:22 he's describing the times in which we live, 17:24 the times that we have come up to. 17:26 Notice what he says. 17:27 And I'll first begin with verse 1. 17:31 He says, "I charge you therefore 17:34 before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, 17:37 who will judge the living 17:39 and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom." 17:43 What's the next three words that we read in verse 2? 17:47 Let's say that together. Do what? 17:48 "Preach the word. 17:51 Be instant or be ready in season 17:54 and out of season. 17:56 Reprove, rebuke, exhort, 17:59 with all longsuffering and doctrine." 18:01 That's the King James Version I just quoted. 18:03 But it says in the New King James, 18:05 "Convince, rebuke, 18:06 exhort with all longsuffering and teaching." 18:10 Why? Get this. Did he say sing the Word? 18:17 Did He say preach the song? 18:19 What did He say? "Preach the Word." 18:22 Now the reason I said that is 18:23 because the Word is being replaced 18:25 with music today. 18:27 You find many places you go, you got a ton of music 18:31 and you get a slice of bread if so much, 18:34 and you get a thin slice like Pepperidge Farm. 18:38 If you know Pepperidge Farm, you know what I mean. 18:40 They're the only pieces of bread, 18:42 you know, you get like... 18:43 We did this comparison 18:44 the other day, it's really funny. 18:46 We were going through the grocery store 18:47 looking at labels, some people do that, 18:48 we just had that for fun last week. 18:52 I forgot I got a nice healthy loaf of bread 18:55 and I looked at how many calories 18:57 are in each slice and I was surprised, 18:59 one slice of bread was like 120 calories. 19:04 One slice of bread. 19:05 So if you put peanut butter and jelly with that, 19:07 which is my favorite, 19:08 and two pieces of bread together, 19:09 that's at least 240 calories plus 19:11 the peanut butter and jelly. 19:12 And my wife said, "It's that much?" 19:14 So she went for Pepperidge Farm, 19:16 which is only about 40 calories per slice. 19:18 So it takes three slices of Pepperidge Farm 19:23 to equal one slice of the bread that I like to eat. 19:26 But the point of the matter is what am I talking about, 19:28 nourishment in God's Word. 19:30 See, the Apostle Paul 19:32 was communicating very carefully, 19:34 and if this is true in his day, 19:37 how much more true is it in our day? 19:40 He said, "Preach the Word." Why? Look at verse 3. 19:43 He tells us the reason why the Word must remain 19:46 the central focus 19:47 of our relationship with Christ. 19:49 He says, "For the time will come 19:52 when they will not endure sound doctrine, 19:56 but according to their own lust or desires, 20:00 they will heap to themselves teachers, 20:02 having itching ears and will turn away 20:04 from the truth and be turned to..." 20:06 What? "Fables." 20:08 But he says in verse 5, 20:10 "But you be watchful in all things, 20:12 endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist, 20:16 make full proof or fulfill your ministry." 20:20 He is saying clearly we're coming down to a time 20:22 when the Word of God will not be accepted. 20:26 They will not endure sound doctrine. 20:28 You find some churches that say, 20:30 "We don't teach doctrine. 20:32 We don't teach doctrine." And I'm thinking to myself. 20:34 "Run for the hills." 20:35 If you attend a church that does not teach doctrine, 20:38 run for your life because all that doctrine means 20:41 in the Greek is teachings, and teachings about whom? 20:45 About Jesus. 20:47 You read the Word, you study about Jesus, 20:48 you read the Word, you learn about Jesus. 20:51 If a church is not teaching doctrine... 20:52 I saw a little video clip the other day, 20:56 you know, that says, 20:58 "We're not sure that everything we teach is the truth, 21:00 however we are a loving community." 21:03 You are not sure that everything you teach 21:06 is the truth? 21:08 Be sure, right? 21:10 If you're following the Lord, be sure. 21:12 Here's another one. 21:14 2 Timothy Chapter 2. Look at verse 15. 21:18 2 Timothy 2:15. 21:21 This is an amazing... 21:24 It's amazing how Paul the Apostle 21:25 just really drives this point home repetitiously. 21:29 What he says in verse 15? 21:30 "Be diligent to present yourself 21:34 approved to God, 21:35 a worker who does not need to be ashamed, 21:38 rightly dividing the..." 21:39 What? "Word of truth." 21:43 The Word and truth cannot be separated. 21:47 They always go together, and here's the reason why. 21:50 2 Timothy 3:5, 7. Verse 5 and 7. 21:56 The conditions of the last days are outlined right here. 22:00 Look at verse 5. 22:02 In the last days, he says, "Having a form of..." 22:06 What? 22:07 "Godliness, but denying the power thereof." 22:09 Then verse 7. 22:11 "Ever learning or always learning, 22:13 and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 22:16 It's amazing. 22:18 You can go to churches 22:19 that give seminars on everything, 22:21 how to make a life simple all the way up 22:22 to how to start a nursery. 22:24 I mean, really, there's some programs... 22:26 You can go to churches that are open 24 hours a day, 22:27 7 days a week, 22:29 they do everything for the community, 22:30 but they will never talk about any doctrines in the Bible. 22:33 They'll omit those things that have to do 22:35 with eternal life and righteousness, 22:37 and how to live and what to avoid, 22:39 and what not to eat and how not to dress, 22:41 and how not to be diluted by your worship. 22:45 And they say that, 22:46 "We don't want to offend anybody 22:47 or you know what? 22:49 If you didn't give me the truth to where you live..." 22:51 And I go back to the former example, 22:53 "And you said you have really good dinner 22:55 for Thanksgiving 22:56 and you gave me the wrong directions, 22:58 I would be a pretty upset." 23:00 Well, the Word of God is more important 23:03 than directions to a good Thanksgiving meal, 23:05 it's talking about directions 23:06 for eternal life, ain't that right? 23:08 So make sure that where you go, 23:10 the truth of God is being taught. 23:13 And one last one, 1 Timothy. 23:18 1 Timothy 4:16. 23:23 Why is the Word of God important? 23:25 Why is it important to even study doctrine? 23:32 1 Timothy 4:16. 23:34 "Take heed to..." 23:36 Who? "Yourself and to the doctrine. 23:40 Continue in them, 23:42 for in so doing or for in doing this 23:45 you will save both yourself and those who hear you." 23:49 Isn't that amazing? 23:50 He says, "Okay, if this is the right direction, 23:53 make sure for yourself first and then make sure 23:57 that those who hear you follow what they know... 24:00 What you know to be truth because you'll save yourself 24:03 and them by hearing you will also be saved." 24:07 So you got to know that the Word of God 24:09 is sanctifying us and we are taking heed, 24:12 we are learning the doctrine for ourselves. 24:15 Go to question number seven. 24:17 So the answer is, in number six, 24:19 we already know the answer, study God's Word. 24:21 After accepting, 24:23 you got to study the Word of God. 24:25 Question number seven. Here it is. 24:26 What position does Jesus have 24:30 towards those that follow His Word? 24:33 3 John 1:4. 24:36 3 John. 24:40 3 John. 24:45 Right. 24:47 But, you know, when you put in the Bible... 24:48 When you put it in the Bible, they say 3 John. 24:54 Well, it only go to nine, that's it. 24:56 And then we go to the new one. 24:59 Okay. 3 John. 25:03 It's the only one chapter and we gonna look at verse 4. 25:07 Let me just go and put on the screen for you. 25:09 Here we are. 25:11 And the Bible says, "I have no greater joy..." 25:14 What does it say? 25:16 "I have no..." 25:17 What? Let's try that again. Are you ready? 25:20 "I have no..." 25:21 What? 25:23 "Greater joy than to hear that my children walk..." 25:26 What? 25:27 "In truth." 25:29 Now I want us to get that in the beautiful context. 25:34 Go with me to... 25:37 Oh, man. 25:38 I have to wait till the next question 25:40 because it's the next question. 25:42 But here's the thing, if you had children, 25:45 would you want your children to walk in the lie? 25:47 Yes or no? 25:48 No, you didn't hear what I said. 25:50 Would you want your children to walk in a lie? 25:55 You guys are so anxious to say yes. 25:57 You say, sure, I want them to walk in a lie. 26:00 No. 26:01 Would you want them to walk in a lie? 26:03 No. 26:04 You will say, "Now make sure 26:06 that you know your way to school." 26:09 If you give them the wrong directions, 26:10 they won't find that. 26:12 If they get lost, they'll say, 26:13 "Mom, the directions were not true." 26:14 This was not the truth about, 26:16 "I didn't get the right directions." 26:17 Here is the... 26:19 But when you know that your children 26:20 are going the right way, even as they get older, 26:23 "Oh, I'm so glad that I train my children right 26:25 because they're going the right way." 26:27 Another word for truth is right. 26:30 And that's why Philippians 4:8 says... 26:32 Let's go there. 26:33 I could quote it but I want to ahead 26:35 and give you the Bible. 26:38 And you all know it. 26:39 Here it is. Philippians 4:8. Look at this. 26:45 You know, the Holy Spirit is very faithful. 26:48 He just pours into my head when this program begins. 26:51 It's like I feel there's a Holy Spirit's cup 26:54 just pouring into my head 26:56 and all these Bible verses just flood into my mind. 27:00 Philippians 4:8. 27:01 Notice what Paul writes to the Philippian believers. 27:06 "Finally, brethren, or finally, my brethren, 27:08 whatsoever things are..." 27:10 What? 27:11 "True, whatever things are noble, 27:13 whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, 27:16 whatever things are lovely, 27:17 whatever things are of good report, 27:19 if there be any virtue 27:20 and if there is anything praiseworthy 27:23 or worthy of praise, meditate on these..." 27:25 What? "Mediate on these things." 27:27 So what does he say in the beginning? 27:28 "Whatever things are..." 27:30 What? "True. 27:31 If it's true, meditate on that." 27:33 You know why? 27:34 Let me tell you the most important thing. 27:37 You cannot remember a lie. 27:42 If it's not true, you won't remember it. 27:44 But if it's true, you will remember it. 27:46 Isn't that amazing? 27:47 God has created us so that you remember the truth. 27:50 That's what the lie detector is all about. 27:53 It knows that physiologically you cannot remember a lie, 27:56 so your mind tries to construct a lie 27:58 and you tell that lie different ways over and over 28:01 and over again and that's how they catch you in a lie. 28:06 "You keep changing your story." 28:07 But now if you tell the truth... 28:09 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 28:11 Can you change that? 28:13 Every time you say it, 28:14 it's going to be the same thing. 28:15 God has designed us so that when our hearts 28:18 are in tune with the Lord's heart 28:22 and we tell the truth, we remember that. 28:24 Why do we remember the truth? 28:26 Because the Holy Spirit said, 28:28 he will bring back to our remembrance 28:31 whatever we have learned 28:33 and he will not bring a lie back 28:34 to our remembrance. 28:35 So in other words, he said, 28:37 "You're on your own in this one." 28:38 But when you tell the truth and study the truth, 28:40 it'll come back to your mind 28:41 not because you've got a great recall, 28:44 but the spirit is the one now hitting that remember button. 28:47 Here it is, right? 28:49 And so it brings joy to the Lord 28:51 when we walk in the truth. 28:52 That's what we want to do. 28:54 Bring joy to the Father by walking in the truth. 28:58 Now go to question number eight. 29:00 Question number eight. 29:02 How does the Bible describe 29:04 the benefit of following the truth? 29:07 How does the Bible describe 29:08 the benefit of following the truth? 29:11 By the way, when people get a job, 29:13 they always ask about the benefits. 29:14 What are the benefits? 29:16 "Well, you got health insurance, 29:17 you got dental, you got car insurance." 29:21 People want to know the benefits. 29:23 If we are following the Lord, 29:24 we need to know that there is a benefit, right? 29:28 Nobody follows anybody for nothing. 29:32 Human nature always says, "What's in it for me?" 29:34 Well, here's what's in it for you. 29:36 1 John 1:7. 29:37 How does the Bible describe 29:39 the benefit of following the truth? 29:41 Beautiful passage. 29:45 Since you're looking at the screen, 29:47 let me go and put it there. 29:49 "But if we walk in the light 29:51 as He is in the light, we have..." 29:54 What? 29:56 "Fellowship with one another, 29:58 and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son..." 30:02 Does what? 30:03 "Cleanses us from..." 30:04 How much? "All sin." Notice this. 30:08 In order to have fellowship, and this is powerful now, 30:10 there is friendship, there's camaraderie, 30:14 and then there's fellowship. 30:16 Some people come to church looking for friends. 30:18 "You know what? 30:19 I don't have any friends in that church." 30:21 I've heard people say. 30:22 But Jesus says, the Lord says, 30:25 "But if you walk in the truth and they walk in the truth, 30:27 you'll have something bigger than friendship. 30:28 You'll have..." 30:30 What? "Fellowship." Koinonia. 30:32 Some people look for friends, here's how you get it. 30:35 If you walk in the light 30:37 and the other person walks in the light, you have what? 30:41 Fellowship one with another 30:43 because you're on the same path. 30:46 Have you ever been any place 30:47 where somebody was in the same aisle 30:49 in the store that you were in 30:51 and you struck up a conversation 30:52 because you were... 30:54 I was doing this one day. I don't know. 30:56 What's that thing that you had me looking for? 30:57 Little green vegetable? Oh, I forgot. 31:00 It starts with the letter P. Ladies, you know it. 31:06 No, it's in a little bottle. 31:07 When you come up... 31:08 I don't even know where to look in the store. 31:10 Anyways, I met many people looking 31:11 for this one vegetable, 31:13 my point is, 31:14 and they will give me all the wrong directions. 31:16 It's like... 31:18 Pimientos. Yes! 31:19 Thank you for remembering. See, none of you helped me. 31:23 But pimientos, pimientos, my wife was making... 31:27 They go in the olive. 31:29 So I was playing charades, they look like, you know... 31:32 They go in the... 31:34 Nobody knew what pimientos were. 31:36 I'm thinking, "Surely, that cannot be the only thing 31:38 this store doesn't sell." 31:40 So I said, "Okay, let me really ask." 31:42 So one person pointed me to that aisle, 31:44 and these are people that work there, 31:45 and then finally somebody that did not work there said, 31:48 "Sir, it's not in that aisle. 31:50 Believe me. 31:51 I come to this is..." 31:53 And the guy is telling, "It's in this aisle." 31:54 The guy that works 31:55 there is arguing with the person that shops. 31:57 So who do you believe? 31:59 The guy that works there or the guy that shops there? 32:00 Who do you believe? The guy that works there. 32:03 But this time, the guy that shopped there was right. 32:06 "Sir, it's on this side." 32:08 So I'm going aisle eight, 32:09 aisle seven, aisle eight, aisle seven. 32:12 I finally found it in aisle eight 32:15 and I said to the person, 32:16 when I got back over, they said, "Told you. 32:19 It was in this aisle." Found pimientos. 32:24 Never had we bought pimientos until that day. 32:27 Didn't know what to look for. 32:29 I got partial pimientos 32:30 that were already stuck on the olives. 32:31 My wife says, "No, I just want the pimientos by themselves. 32:35 Honey, what does a pimiento look like?" 32:39 Finally found it. Here's the key. 32:42 When you find the truth 32:44 and you know what the truth looks like, 32:47 nobody could deceive you about 32:49 what it should be that you're looking for. 32:51 When this person finds pimientos 32:54 and you find pimientos, all of a sudden, 32:56 you have a fellowship that you didn't have before 32:59 and you will talk to a person that you never met, 33:01 and all of a sudden you are kind and courteous 33:05 and accommodating. 33:06 Let me tell you something, my brother. 33:08 If you want to have a kind and a courteous 33:09 and accommodating relationship with anybody, 33:12 you both have to decide 33:13 we're going to both walk in the light. 33:15 Amen? 33:16 When you walk in the light, 33:17 you don't have to forge a friendship, 33:20 you have it because you're in the light. 33:22 That's just how God set it up. So here's the answer. 33:26 How does the Bible describe the benefit of following Jesus? 33:29 What do we do? We walk in the light. 33:32 That's the first benefit. 33:33 The second benefit is fellowship 33:35 and the ultimate benefit is not only do 33:37 we have fellowship with Jesus 33:39 but He's cleansed us from all our sins. 33:42 That's the good news about walking in the light. 33:45 And by the way, 33:46 the light reveals your true condition. 33:48 That's why one of the reasons 33:50 why the devil doesn't like the light of God's Word 33:52 to be shined in churches 33:53 because people are more concerned 33:55 about temporal things than their own condition. 33:59 Matter of fact, go with me to the Book of John. 34:02 Oh, man, I tell you. 34:03 Pastor Brooks... 34:05 I was listening to his sermon that he preached in 1979. 34:07 Let me tell you something. 34:09 The power of the truth, 34:10 that sermon is 40 plus years old. 34:13 '79, okay, '89, '99... 34:17 Thirty plus years old, 34 years old. 34:20 That sermon is 34 years old. 34:22 And if you listen to that sermon, 34:23 it's still true. 34:29 And he said in the sermon, 34:32 "God does not get upset with you 34:36 that you were in darkness, 34:39 but He's upset with you when light comes 34:41 and you rather darkness than light." 34:45 That's the condemnation is not that you are in darkness 34:48 but that light comes 34:49 and you rather darkness than light. 34:52 Ain't that terrible? 34:53 All of a sudden 34:55 if somebody tells you the truth, 34:56 you didn't know it all this time, 34:57 they finally tell you the truth, 34:59 and you say, "I don't want that. 35:01 Keep me in the dark." Here it is. 35:03 Okay. 35:08 John 1. Okay. 35:13 I tell you. 35:17 And this is the condemnation. 35:29 Okay, here... 35:33 Okay, here it is. 35:35 1 John... 35:36 Oh, not 1 John, but John Chapter 1. 35:39 Let's start with verse 4. 35:47 "There was... 35:48 In Him was life, and the life was..." 35:50 What? "The light of men. 35:53 And the light shines in the..." 35:54 What? 35:55 "Darkness, and the darkness..." 35:57 What? "Did not comprehend it. 36:00 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." 36:02 Praise the Lord. I like that. 36:04 "This man came for a witness, to bear witness to the..." 36:07 What? 36:09 "Light, that all through him might..." 36:11 Do what? "Believe." 36:12 But he says in verse 8, "He was not that Light, 36:15 but was sent to bear witness of that Light." 36:19 And verse 9. 36:22 "That was the true Light which gives light to every man 36:25 who comes into the world. 36:27 He was in the world, 36:28 and the world was made through Him, 36:30 and the world did not..." 36:31 What? "Know Him." But look at verse 12. 36:35 "But as many as..." 36:37 Do what? 36:38 "Received Him, to them He gave the right 36:40 to become children of God, 36:42 to those who believe in His name. 36:44 So what happens is when the Word 36:45 that became flesh came and they accepted the Word, 36:49 what do they become all of a sudden? 36:50 They become what? Children. 36:54 Now children, you can't miss that 36:57 because earlier we read in 3 John 1:4, 37:01 "I have no greater joy than to hear 37:03 that my children walk in truth." 37:07 Accepting the word, 37:08 accepting Christ, we become children. 37:10 And what happens with children? 37:12 Go with me to the Book of... 37:15 Oh, I tell you right now. Slow my mind down. 37:17 Are you ready to say slow down? 37:19 Go with me to the Book of Thessalonians. 37:29 Okay, here we are. 37:36 Okay. 37:43 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2. 37:52 I'll tell you. And verse 10. 37:58 2 Thessalonians 2:10. 38:02 Let's look at that together. 38:03 And the Bible says, 38:05 and with all speaking of the lawless one, 38:08 speaking of the one who deceives, 38:11 notice what the Lord says. 38:12 And by the way, let me put context to this 38:14 before I go into the rest of it. 38:17 This verse talks about the falling away 38:18 that's going to come. 38:20 Let me ask you the question. 38:21 When is the falling away going to come? 38:24 Can we say the last days? Let's say that. The last days. 38:29 That day the coming of the Lord 38:31 shall not come except there comes a what? 38:34 Falling away first. 38:37 Falling away from what? Look at verse 10. 38:40 "And with all unrighteous deception..." 38:42 2 Thessalonians 2:10. 38:45 And it says, "And with all unrighteous deception 38:47 among those who..." 38:48 Do what? 38:50 "Perish, because they did not..." 38:51 What? 38:53 "Receive the love of the truth, that they..." 38:55 What? "Might be saved. 38:58 And for this reason 38:59 God will send them strong delusion 39:01 that they should believe..." 39:03 What? 39:04 "The lie that they all may be condemned 39:06 who did not believe the truth but had..." 39:08 What? "Pleasure in unrighteousness." 39:12 When you look at this whole ideology 39:14 or the whole... 39:15 I wouldn't even say philosophy, 39:17 but the whole teaching of God's Word, 39:19 He is saying truth. 39:21 Have you seen it over? 39:22 Truth, truth, truth, truth, truth. 39:25 Something that is being chiseled away, 39:28 it's eroding away. 39:30 Why? 39:31 Because the Lord said that's what's going to happen. 39:33 You know, I was really taken aback 39:35 when the hurricane hit the coast of New Jersey 39:39 and they had this amusement park 39:41 that stood for more than 100 years. 39:44 And what happened? Everything fell away. 39:47 The roller coaster was in the ocean, 39:50 the boardwalk was blown away, and why did that happen? 39:55 Can somebody tell me? 39:56 I'm going to ask... 39:57 I want you to think about that question. 39:59 I'm going to come back to you. 40:00 Why did all those things fall away so easily? 40:03 I'll come back to that. 40:04 I want you to think about the answer, okay? 40:06 Let's go to the next question. Not going to give you this one. 40:09 Maybe I'll give it to you just before we end, 40:11 but I'm gonna let you think about it. 40:12 Why did all those things fall away so easily? 40:15 But let's look at question number nine. 40:17 And I'll give it to you 40:19 before we go to the very last one. 40:20 Question number 9. Here it is. 40:23 What about those that seek to ignore... 40:26 What? The importance of truth. 40:29 What about those that seek to ignore 40:31 the importance of truth? 40:34 Let's go to 2 Timothy 13:8. 40:40 2 Corinthians 13:8. 40:43 I looked right at it and called it Timothy. 40:45 So glad that you all are here because, man, I tell you. 40:49 If you didn't have your Bible or the lesson, 40:50 we'll be in a different book. 40:52 2 Corinthians 13:8. 40:57 What about those that seek 40:58 to ignore the importance of truth, okay? 41:03 That should be the last question 41:04 on lesson number 18. 41:06 And you know what's going to happen next? 41:08 We are going to transition to number 19. 41:11 Does anybody not have 19? Do we all have 19s? 41:18 Okay, well, no, there's number two. 41:19 There's only page one, okay? 41:24 So here we are, 2 Corinthians 13:8. 41:27 Let's read this together, 41:29 our last scripture for question 18. 41:30 Together. Here we are. 41:32 "For we can do..." 41:33 What? 41:35 "Nothing against the truth, but..." 41:36 Only what? "Only for the truth." 41:41 So question, can you stop the truth? 41:44 Can you destroy the truth? Can you put the truth out? 41:48 Can you get rid of the truth? Can you replace the truth? 41:52 Let's see. Can you burn up the truth? 41:55 Can you delete the truth? 41:57 Can you corrupt the truth? 42:02 Okay, I want to leave that till latter to see 42:04 how many of you kept saying no. 42:07 The devil couldn't destroy it, couldn't burn it, 42:10 couldn't get rid of it, couldn't delete it, 42:12 so what did he do? 42:14 Corrupted it. 42:16 That's the day and age in which we're living. 42:17 He has tried for millennia to get rid of it and he can't. 42:24 So what he has done is he seeks to corrupt, 42:28 he seeks to pervert, that's what he does. 42:32 He deceives the whole world. Revelation 13. 42:35 He deceives the whole world. 42:37 The text we just read in 2 Thessalonians 42:39 with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, 42:44 he talks about that, deception. 42:46 That's the day and age in which we're living. 42:48 So the truth has not been diluted, 42:50 deleted, burned up, 42:52 thrown away, it's been corrupted. 42:56 It's still there, 42:58 but if you don't listen to the Word of God 43:00 over the word of man, 43:02 then the corruption is going to be much deeper 43:04 than it could have been. 43:06 So what do we do now? 43:07 I'm going to go back to the question. 43:09 Our last question for this lesson was, 43:11 how much can you do against the truth? 43:13 How much can you do against it? Nothing. 43:15 You could try to corrupt it, 43:16 but if you search the Word of God, 43:18 it's not corrupted there. 43:19 So here's my spiritual advice. 43:21 If you are studying the Word of God 43:24 and you read something in the Bible 43:26 and you are under the leadership of a pastor 43:27 that says, "I know what the Bible says, but..." 43:31 Change your church. 43:32 Did you hear what I said? Run for the hills. 43:36 "I know what the Bible says, but..." 43:39 Now you know why that's vitally important? 43:41 Because the Bible says, 43:42 "They are sheep and they are..." 43:43 What? "Goats." You know what a goat does? 43:48 But. 43:50 That's how you can know, 43:51 that's how you can know you are a goat 43:53 in the making. 43:54 You know what God's Word says, but... 43:57 You know the Sabbath is true, but... 43:59 You know you don't burn in hell forever, but... 44:05 You know that the Lord 44:06 has not changed His Sabbath, but... 44:08 Look out. 44:10 That's an evidence 44:11 that you are not following the Word of God. 44:13 Pray for hearts to be molded by the Word of God. 44:16 So my question I just asked. 44:18 Why did the boardwalk 44:22 and the amusement park 44:24 break away so easily? 44:29 Thank you, Dan. 44:31 Somebody's got their head on tonight. 44:32 It was built on sand. 44:34 If you build on the foundation of God's Word, 44:37 it will not erode, it will not break away. 44:39 Amen. It will not. It will stand the test of time. 44:42 The winds and the waves will come, 44:44 persecution will come, 44:46 compromise will come, corruption will come, 44:49 but if you are filled... 44:50 If you are based on God's Word, 44:52 it will not remove your foundation. 44:54 It is just like a strong light house 44:56 in the midst of a North Atlantic Ocean. 45:00 The light will shine in the darkest night, 45:02 in the greatest storm, 45:04 the light will continue to shine. 45:06 Amen for that? 45:07 That's what God's Word is, a light house. 45:09 Don't start singing it now. 45:11 But God's word is like a lighthouse, it doesn't... 45:14 And that's why Jesus says, 45:15 "Thy word is a lamp unto My feet, 45:17 a light unto My path." 45:20 Keep in the Word of God. Now we're going to transition. 45:23 How much we'll cover I don't know, 45:26 but we're going to go to the next lesson, 45:28 lesson number 19. 45:31 And the answer to number nine was... 45:36 The answer to number nine is... 45:39 What about those that seek to ignore the importance 45:41 of the truth? 45:42 You can't do anything against it. 45:44 You can't do anything against it. 45:47 Can't get rid of it. 45:49 Okay, look at the title of our next lesson. 45:51 "The Truth about Life and Death." 45:55 "The Truth about Life and Death." 45:57 This is probably one of the most corrupted 46:03 teachings in modern times. 46:06 If I were to boil this all up 46:10 and try to bring them to the top, 46:11 this one is probably the most corrupted one 46:15 because its corruption is almost 6000 years old. 46:19 Its corruption goes way back to the initial lie 46:23 told in the Garden of Eden. 46:25 That is the first lie told to Eve. 46:27 It goes all the way that far back. 46:31 But tonight, I want to lay some foundation 46:34 about the truth about life and death 46:36 just to give you some preparatory statements. 46:41 There are some that believe 46:42 that something about man is immortal. 46:45 There's a teaching that when a man dies, 46:47 he goes on to live in a different place, 46:52 that's reincarnation. 46:54 We were in India at the Hindu temples, 46:57 we saw the path, the journey of man's life, 47:01 and if they didn't learn that lesson 47:03 in that first life, that is, if they didn't recite 47:08 the mantra of Hare Krishna Krishna Hare, 47:09 if they didn't recite that perfectly at the end 47:11 of their lives, they would have 47:13 the unfavorable task of coming back 47:18 and starting all over again for another shot 47:23 at getting this thing right. 47:25 We went to the Salt Lake City and we saw the path of light, 47:29 we saw the journey of man. 47:31 There is a teaching that men were souls 47:33 that started in heaven 47:35 and they were sent down to earth to occupy bodies. 47:38 This is not taught in the Bible. 47:40 Can I be straight? Can I be straight here? 47:42 Because I want people to not be in the dark. 47:45 I want people to be in the light 47:46 about what God's Word says. 47:48 They are those who teach that man had a preexistence 47:52 and they came to earth to occupy bodies 47:55 and when if they learned their lesson 47:58 in that occupied body, 47:59 then they have earned their way to one of the levels of heaven. 48:07 So you see these spirit babies. 48:10 And that's where people get this ideology 48:12 that when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, 48:16 they used that scripture and said, 48:18 "Oh, heavenly beings, impregnated earthly women, 48:23 and thus spirit babies were born." 48:26 There are those that are teaching... 48:27 and I'm going to be very candid about this time 48:29 because I want this error to be destroyed. 48:32 Amen? 48:33 There are wonderful people that are... 48:36 Their minds have been corrupted on this teaching 48:37 of what happens, 48:39 what the nature of man is all about, 48:41 what happens when a man dies, his preexistence... 48:44 There is no preexistence of man. 48:47 Matter of fact, 48:48 the only preexistence of man is dust. 48:52 "From dust thou art to dust thou shalt return." 48:55 Okay? 48:57 But there is no spirit hanging out waiting to see, 48:58 "Oh, man, I wonder if Bob and Kim 49:02 are going to have another baby 49:03 so we can come down to earth and have another..." 49:06 You know, it's crazy when you think about that. 49:09 "I wonder if Dan and Cindy are going to have another child 49:14 so we can send another spirit baby down." 49:16 That's corrupted. That's not scriptural. 49:19 Then there are those that believe 49:22 that you never die, 49:23 you just go over and over and over and over 49:25 and you're on a merry go round called life 49:28 until somebody pulls the plug and say, 49:29 "That's the last ride." 49:34 But now let's go to the Christian world. 49:36 There are those who teach in the Christian world 49:37 that once you die, 49:39 you're immediately gone to heaven. 49:41 You're up, up and away. You're on your way there. 49:44 You get there so fast 49:46 that by the time of the funeral, 49:47 you're looking down. 49:49 Momma is looking down, papa is looking down. 49:51 And they go to the cemetery every Memorial Day. 49:54 I know some people that go there out of obligation 49:56 because they don't want their mom to think 49:57 that they are ignoring her 50:00 so they go to the Memorial Day, 50:01 every year they go to Memorial Day, 50:03 carry those flowers. 50:05 Then there are those that believe every time 50:07 they have these rituals in certain cultures, 50:09 they take fruit to the cemetery to give it to the dead. 50:12 You want fruit? You want fruit and vegetables? 50:15 Wait for that time of the year, 50:16 you get fruits and vegetables for free. 50:19 No disrespect to those who believe that, 50:21 but I know some people that in the city of New York 50:23 they would do that 50:24 because certain cultures would do that, 50:26 take fruits and vegetables and put at the gravesite 50:28 and they say this is an offering 50:30 to the dead. 50:31 The dead are not having anything 50:32 to eat after they die. 50:35 No disrespect. 50:37 We've got to understand what the Bible teaches 50:39 because you know why? 50:40 It is not that... 50:42 It is not that any belief suffices, 50:44 it's that what you teach about the nature of man 50:47 and what happens after he dies 50:49 is directly connected to whether 50:51 or not Jesus is telling us the truth, right? 50:55 It's not about whether or not you figure 50:56 that out in the Bible, 50:58 it's did Jesus tell the truth or not. 51:00 And so I want to begin with a text tonight, 51:03 not in our lesson 51:05 but it's a wonderful text to begin this study with. 51:09 Go with me to John 14. 51:11 And I think those of you who know your Bible know 51:12 where I'm headed. 51:14 John chapter what? Fourteen. 51:20 Beautiful verse. 51:22 I want to begin with a passage that most people quote, 51:25 but they just kind of miss the details of it. 51:28 This is the passage that has such beautiful details 51:30 that you cannot afford to miss it. 51:33 If you miss it, 51:34 you'll come away with all kinds of teachings. 51:37 Now we're going to break it down together. 51:39 Are you already? Say amen. Here it is. 51:42 "Let not your hearts be..." 51:43 What? "Troubled. 51:45 You believe in God, believe also in Me." 51:48 That's verse 1. 51:49 First of all, what's Jesus saying? 51:51 The Jews believed in God, they didn't believe in Him. 51:54 There are those cultures that believe in God, 51:56 but they don't believe in Jesus. 51:58 First of all, you cannot just believe in the Father 52:01 and delete the Son 52:03 because the way to get to the Father is what? 52:05 Through the Son. 52:06 So if there is a culture of those 52:08 maybe watching this program and they say, 52:09 "We do believe in God, but Jesus... 52:12 Don't have much space for Him." 52:13 Jesus said, "You believe in My Father, 52:15 you got to believe in Me also." 52:19 All right? Now this is the reason why. 52:22 "In My Father's house are many..." 52:23 What? "Mansions. 52:26 If it were not so, I would have told you. 52:30 I go to prepare a place for you." 52:33 So where is Jesus right now? Preparing a place for us. 52:37 Now according to the word 52:39 that's plugged into this scripture, 52:40 what kind of place is He preparing for us? 52:43 Come on, say mansion. Come on, say it. 52:45 Mansion. 52:46 And don't have a problem saying mansion 52:48 because you don't have to pay for it, 52:51 you're not building it. 52:54 Now let me ask you a question. 52:56 Let me tell you why this is just sinking 52:58 in my mind tonight. 52:59 We went to India and we went to the Taj Mahal. 53:02 The Taj Mahal was built 53:06 after the king's wife died. 53:10 It was built to her honor. 53:13 Can I say it's a mansion? 53:16 It's a mausoleum to her memory. 53:19 It's massive, it is referred to as the number one 53:23 of the seven wonders of the world. 53:25 Symmetrically perfect, architecturally pristine. 53:30 It's massive. 53:32 People travel from all over the world 53:33 to see that building. 53:35 Now, if a king did that for his bride, 53:39 what is the Lord going to do for His bride? 53:43 Amen? 53:46 And He's not going to build it for those of us who are dead, 53:49 He's going to build it for those of us 53:51 who are going to live eternally, eternally. 53:54 If men can do that... 53:57 You go to Buckingham Palace, we were there, we were there. 54:00 Angie is English, she was born in England, my wife that is. 54:03 You go to Buckingham Palace and you find out 54:05 how many rooms are there and your mind is like... 54:08 But how many people live there? Two. 54:13 And you wonder, 54:15 can they ever go to all those rooms. 54:18 Pomp and circumstance and... 54:20 Now let me put this in context. 54:23 It's not that we're going to heaven 54:24 for our own personal Buckingham Palace, right? 54:27 Let me tell you something. 54:28 I'll be happy in heaven with a nylon tent. 54:33 No matter what I'm in, as long as I'm in the kingdom. 54:37 I'm not going because I'm going to get a mansion, 54:39 I'm going because I want to see Jesus. 54:41 You know, like some people at the World Series, 54:43 they don't care if they get a seat or not, 54:45 World Series is baseball game, could I just get in the park? 54:47 I'll be glad to stand for 9 innings. 54:49 That's humans. 54:51 So heaven is going to be far more beautiful than that. 54:53 So he says, "I go to prepare a place for you." 54:56 Now let's get to the truth of this. 54:58 Father and the Son, 55:00 the Son has gone to the Father's house 55:03 to get a place prepared for us, a mansion. 55:06 Key verse, verse 3. 55:09 "And if I go and prepare a place for you..." 55:11 Let's say the four words together. 55:13 "I will come again..." 55:16 Is Jesus coming again? Yes. This is a fact. 55:19 No culture on earth denies the fact 55:21 that there was a man on earth named Jesus, 55:23 but you know what? 55:25 They don't know where He is right now. 55:27 Do we know where He is? He's in His Father's house. 55:31 They're looking all over the world. 55:32 Where would... 55:33 Some cultures say after He left the Middle East, 55:35 He came to America. 55:38 Okay, let's just put that to rest. 55:40 He went to His Father's house and because He's there, 55:43 He said, "I will come again and do..." 55:44 What? 55:46 "Receive you to Myself that where I am..." 55:47 What? "There you may be also." 55:50 So where are we hoping to go? 55:53 We're hoping to go where Jesus is, right? 55:57 That doesn't happen when you die. 55:59 He says, the key to these three verses is, 56:02 "I will come again and receive you." 56:05 So as we enter the topic of what happens 56:07 when a person dies, 56:08 let's go ahead and hit one question tonight. 56:10 We may get two, but let's start with one question tonight. 56:13 I want to get this because we're going 56:15 to begin with first the nature of man, 56:17 we're going to begin at the beginning. 56:18 That's the best place to begin, at the beginning, all right? 56:21 Here we go. Question number one. 56:24 What does the Bible teach about the creation of man? 56:27 What does the Bible say to us? 56:29 We're going to go to Genesis 2:7. 56:32 Genesis 2:7. Beautiful passage. 56:36 Very necessary and in the interest of time 56:38 we're going to go there together. 56:39 And I'm reading this from the King James Version 56:41 and the reason why is because this is the book 56:43 that people used to create the confusion. 56:46 There's a certain word used in this translation alone 56:49 that has been used to create the confusion. 56:51 Here it is. 56:53 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 56:57 and breathed into his nostrils the..." 56:59 What? 57:01 "Breath of life and man became a..." 57:02 What? "Living soul." Very quickly. 57:07 I'm going to reiterate this on our next broadcast, 57:09 but I must hit this tonight just to plant the seeds. 57:11 Dust of the ground, the body, look at that, breath of life, 57:16 which is the spirit, 57:18 equals the living soul or the human being. 57:21 You're going to see that in our next broadcast. 57:23 We're going to talk about the body, 57:24 we're going to talk about the dust, 57:26 we're going to talk about the breath of life. 57:27 We're going to talk about how man is created 57:31 and what we have to look forward to 57:34 at the end of this journey called life. 57:37 We're going to see what the Bible says 57:38 about our nature. 57:40 Are we naturally mortal or immortal? 57:43 Do we immediately whisk off to heaven? 57:45 I said, no, we'll find out based on what the Bible says 57:48 whether or not that is in fact the case. 57:51 And how do we know that we don't go to heaven? 57:52 We'll find out what the Bible says about that. 57:54 So, friends, as we study about life and death 57:57 and the nature of man, if it doesn't make sense, 57:59 keep studying and it will come into a sharper focus. 58:03 God bless you. Let us pray. 58:06 Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your goodness 58:08 and for the study of Your Word. 58:11 It truly is a light that keeps us in the light, 58:15 it doesn't lead us down the wrong path. 58:18 It doesn't deceive us, it just keeps us enlightened. 58:21 The entrance of Your Word gives light. 58:24 So, Father, as we study, 58:26 help us to be mindful and also humble. |
Revised 2018-11-26