Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000081S
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00:19 Hello friends. Welcome to another Wednesday night Bible 00:21 study here at the 3ABN Worship Center: A Sharper Focus. And our 00:25 local audience would like to welcome you with a hearty Amen. 00:28 Amen. And wherever you're joining us from, from around the 00:32 world or around the community, we'd like to thank you for 00:35 tuning in to spend this thoughtful hour studying the 00:38 word of God. Now you may say boy that shirt is bright. Well 00:41 it's pretty cold here in the midwest. It's supposed to be 00:46 spring, amen? I'm just reminding you that although it may look 00:49 gray outside and the flowers are blooming somewhere, so I just 00:53 want to brighten up the evening. But the one who is going to 00:56 brighten up our time together tonight is the Holy Spirit. So 01:00 we're going to pray tonight, but in just a few moments I'll tell 01:02 you how to get a copy of the lesson to follow along. So get 01:05 your Bibles, get your pens, invite your family and your 01:08 friends to sit down and study with us. But before we do 01:11 anything, let's always begin with a word of prayer. Let's bow 01:15 our heads. Our kind Father in heaven, the one who searches our 01:19 hearts, knows our thoughts, the one who gives us power and 01:23 strength and wisdom to overcome the challenges that we face on a 01:28 daily basis, the one who delivers us from all evil, 01:32 forgive us of our sins. Lord we pray to night that you'll send 01:35 your Holy Spirit in power to open our hearts and minds to 01:41 wonderful theme as we continue studying your word. So Father 01:45 we thank you in advance for what you will do and how our lives 01:50 will be drawn closer to you. This is our prayer. In Jesus' 01:53 name we pray, Amen. Now tonight if you want a copy of the lesson 01:58 We are finishing up lesson number 25. We just have an 02:02 outline we're going to go through. So if you go to 02:04 this website, 02:06 ASF.3abn.org. You can download right now lesson number 25, the 02:13 Truth About the Millennium and then lesson number 26 which is 02:16 The Truth About Heaven and the New Earth. You can download that 02:22 lesson tonight from that particular website. But before 02:24 we do anything we're going to go ahead and begin with our 02:27 theme song. What is our theme song? Together, what is it? 02:30 Victory in Jesus. Let's sing that song together before we 02:33 begin our lesson study. Here we are. ♪ ♪ 02:43 ♪I heard an old, old story how the Savior came from glory♪ 02:50 ♪How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me♪ 02:58 ♪I heard about his groaning, of the precious blood atoning♪ 03:05 ♪Then I repented of my sin and won the victory♪ 03:13 ♪Oh victory in Jesus my Savior forever♪ 03:21 ♪He sought and bought me with His redeeming blood♪ 03:28 ♪He loved me e'er I knew Him and all my love is due Him♪ 03:36 ♪He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood♪ 03:44 ♪I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory♪ 03:51 ♪and I heard about the streets of gold♪ 03:55 ♪Beyond the crystal sea♪ 03:58 ♪About the angels singing and the old redemption story♪ 04:07 ♪And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory♪ 04:13 ♪Oh victory in Jesus my Savior forever♪ 04:21 ♪He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood♪ 04:28 ♪He loved me e'er I knew Him and all my love is due Him♪ 04:37 ♪He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood♪ 04:45 ♪He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood♪ 04:55 Amen? He plunged me to what? To victory beneath the cleansing 05:01 flood. And that is baptism, but more importantly than that, 05:06 that's the power of the blood of Jesus. Can you say amen to 05:10 that? Well tonight we're continuing our study on the 05:13 Truth About the Millennium. The Truth About the Millennium. And 05:17 I think I mentioned the website. Didn't I do that? But if you 05:20 just tuned in here it is again. ASF.3abn.org. Download lesson 05:25 number 25 which we're finishing and lesson number 26. Now what 05:30 we learned last week was very important, and the week before 05:33 that and the week before that. What we did was we began by 05:38 getting rid of some of the myths about the 1000 years. Now there 05:42 are those who believe that the 1000 years is going to be spent 05:45 on earth. That's why we have many today that are trying to 05:48 reform the earth for Jesus to come back and reign on earth. 05:51 But let me get back to the questions and I'll make them 05:56 easy in a yes or no answer. Is the earth going to be inhabited 06:00 by humans during the 1000 years? Yes or No? Well I wouldn't call 06:05 that inhabited. Well there are going to be some dead folk down 06:09 here and they're not going to be mourned, gathered, lamented 06:15 or buried. For they're going to be like the Bible says in 06:18 Jeremiah, like refuse on the ground. How many categories are 06:21 there going to be when Jesus comes back? How many? Two. Those 06:25 who are just and those who are unjust, those who are filthy and 06:29 those who are righteous or clean Only two categories. I don't 06:35 want to be the party pooper, but there is no yellow line in this 06:38 thing called eternal life. You're either going towards 06:41 Christ or you're going away from Him. There's no yellow line 06:44 where people... Years ago... The reason why that stuck in my mind 06:49 years ago, years ago, when I was growing up in New York City 06:53 my dad used to like to watch the Honeymooners. That's when 06:57 comedy was clean. With Jackie Gleason. You remember that? 06:59 And Ralph Crandon had to update his driver's license and 07:06 there was a question in there What's the yellow line for? 07:09 And Norton said everyone knows what the yellow line is for and 07:13 Ralph said what, he says for motorcycles. And the point of 07:17 the matter is the yellow line is just to keep you divided from 07:20 the left or right. Isn't that right? There's no purpose for 07:23 for that yellow line as far as travel as far as traveling. It's 07:25 the two categories. It's not to travel on. It's a warning. 07:30 Either you're going in the right direction or you're going 07:32 in the wrong direction. Either you're going towards home or 07:35 you're going away from home. And in the New Earth, we're going to 07:38 talking about that starting tonight, but what I'm going to 07:41 do as we wind up the study about the millennium, no one 07:45 will be on the earth except those who are dead. How many 07:48 resurrections will there be. Two Which one in the good one? The 07:54 first resurrection. If you die and I want to clear this up. 07:56 Somebody sent me a mail and I want to clear this up. What's 08:00 good about getting mails and emails is that people are 08:03 watching the program and I want to clear something up because 08:05 this person added something to it that I didn't say. And I said 08:11 the first death happens to us all but the second death only 08:14 happens to the wicked. Now what I meant by that is the first 08:18 death affects all of humanity but not everybody is going to 08:23 die the first death. There are going to be those who will be 08:25 alive when Jesus comes. Am I right? We who are alive and 08:28 remain. They will be alive but the first death applies to all 08:33 for all have sinned and the wages of sin is death. So 08:39 everyone alive who has ever been alive will be affected in one 08:44 way or the other, or might be affected in one way or the 08:47 by the first death. There are those who will be alive when 08:50 Jesus comes. But the second death only affects the wicked. 08:54 So here's the point, here's the equation. You can die once and 08:58 then twice or you can die twice and live once. You get it? Die 09:04 once. If you die, you have had life before that, you die, your 09:09 waiting for Jesus to come back, you live again. Die once the 09:12 the first death and then twice or live once and die twice. 09:20 You'll get that all clear in your head but the second death 09:22 does not happen to the righteous. Praise the Lord for 09:25 that. We also discovered that during the millennium the saints 09:30 will judge the world. So what we're going to do tonight, we're 09:33 going to put together a quick outline because you know when 09:36 you go over a topic for three weeks for those who don't get 09:40 the early stage or the middle stage or the ending stage, 09:42 we're actually in the fourth week 09:44 of the topic of the millennium, what I'm going to do tonight is 09:47 just put together a summary and if you have your paper, if 09:51 you downloaded the syllabus what I want to do to transition into 09:56 the area that we're going to break down in here, we're going 10:01 to walk through three particular areas. How many area did I say? 10:04 Three. Three particular areas. They are outlined in A 10:08 Millennium begins, B Millennium Continues and C Millennium Ends. 10:16 Begins, Continues and Ends. Now what I want to rejoice with is 10:22 the fact that when we were studying last week, the 10:26 the last text that we ended with was from the book 10:28 of Nahum. Nahum 1:9 where if you remember that it says that 10:34 affliction shall not rise up what? A second time. Amen. So 10:41 when the issue of sin is finally resolved there will be no second 10:48 possibility. I want to make that really, really clear. There was 10:53 some confusion about that. Somebody may say well isn't it 10:54 possible that sin could rise up a second time. Because people 10:57 are going to be there like they were the first time. Well the 10:59 sin problem is being addressed now. Right? So here's what 11:05 you say. If there's a possibility for sin to rise up 11:08 a second time, you know the ramifications of that? There's a 11:11 possibility of a need of another savior. There's a possibility of 11:15 a need of another Calvary. There's a possibility of a... 11:19 Now here's what's so ridiculous about that. If the devil is not 11:23 going to be around... Do I need to go further? If the devil's 11:28 not going to be around and sin is going to be destroyed, if the 11:34 very root of sin is going to be destroyed, how are you going to 11:37 get fruit if there's no root. And the Bible says in Malachi 4, 11:42 go there very quickly just to benefit those who are maybe 11:45 tuning in for the first time. Go to Malachi. Jesus said He is 11:51 the vine, John 15, Jesus says I am the Vine, you are the what? 11:54 Branches. So any righteousness that we have comes from who? 11:59 From Jesus. So therefore if Satan would, because, not if, 12:05 but because Satan is a liar from the beginning, he's a 12:08 murderer from the beginning. Lies and murder are from whom? 12:14 From Satan. Okay now. So if the one who produces this is no 12:21 longer around, can it be produced? Yes or No? Absolutely 12:25 not. Let's look at this and show you the evidence of it. Malachi 12:28 chapter 4 and this is talking about the lake of fire and 12:31 brimstone which will be a part of the second death. It's not 12:35 burning right now. Malachi 4:1 the Bible says: For behold the 12:40 day is what? Is coming, burning like an oven and all the proud, 12:47 yes, all who do what? Wickedly will be stubble. The day which 12:54 is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts that will 13:00 leave them neither root nor branch. Now here it is: If those 13:03 who do wickedly are going to be burned up, whose going to be 13:08 left? Those who don't do wickedly. Why won't we do 13:12 wickedly. Come on, give me a theological answer, why won't 13:15 we do wickedly? Because we will be completely reproduced in the 13:21 image and the character of Jesus What do you say? So if you are 13:26 now made, like the Bible says, we will see Him as He is for we 13:30 will be like Him. 1 John 3:1,2. We will see Him as He is for we 13:37 will be like Him. So if we're going to be like Jesus and Jesus 13:42 said to the prince of this world The prince of this world has 13:44 come and he has nothing in me. So was there sin in Jesus? No. 13:50 He bore our sins but He didn't have sin within Him. The prince 13:58 tried to get in. He said that he had nothing in Him. So if 14:01 there's no sin in Jesus and we are made in His character, 14:05 there'll be no sin where? In us. So there's no sin in us so it 14:10 can't come out. What's not in cannot come out. Amen to that. 14:16 So let's finish it. Look at verse 3 of Malachi 4. You shall 14:22 trample the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles 14:25 of your feet on the day that I do this, says the Lord of hosts. 14:31 Now we also discovered in Ezekiel 28 that Satan himself is 14:35 going to be turned to ashes, right? So the devil himself is 14:38 going to be turned to ashes and those who do wickedly will be 14:42 turned to ashes. There'll be no continued existence for the 14:46 devil and there'll be no continued existence for those 14:49 who do wickedly. All sin will be eradicated. Is that clear? So 14:55 let's look at the outline very quickly tonight. We're going to 14:57 walk through this and not going to spend time on this. You've 15:00 received a download copy from the website that you visited 15:04 and we all have a copy. We're going to walk through this very 15:07 quickly just to give you the idea of the three segments. 15:09 Start with section A. How does the millennium begin? Together. 15:17 Jesus returns. Let's look at the next one. Okay what happens when 15:21 Jesus returns? What takes place? The first resurrection. Then 15:26 after the first resurrection what happens? The saints are 15:29 what? Caught up to meet Jesus. The living saints along with the 15:33 resurrected saints, because the resurrection just took place. 15:36 What happens? The living wicked are what? Destroyed. They are 15:41 destroyed by the brightness of the Lord's coming. There's the 15:44 references. 15:46 The other one; who's alive on earth. No one left alive on 15:50 earth. The wicked that were living destroyed by the 15:52 brightness and the wicked that were dead are still in their 15:55 graves and then what happens? To bind the devil. What's the 15:58 last part? Satan is bound for how long? A thousand years. Now 16:02 very carefully before we go to the second section. What binds 16:06 the devil? What binds the devil? Okay, a set of circumstances. 16:11 Nobody to tempt. If you're a thief and you like to steal but 16:14 there's no one to rob, really. If you like to kill and 16:20 everybody's dead, really, right? If you want to deceive and 16:24 everybody's no longer deceivable because they're all 16:29 dead. Oh. Don't want to be cynical but there's nobody 16:32 that's going to be alive. The only ones that are going to be 16:35 barking around this earth for a thousand years is the devil and 16:39 his angels. That's it. I tried to envision that and I thought 16:44 boy. I cannot imagine. I mean, growing up some of us probably 16:48 were exposed to scary movies. You don't need to tell me that 16:54 you weren't because I know that somebody saw something scary 16:56 along the way. I don't watch them anymore, praise the Lord 16:59 for that. But this earth is going to be infested by demons 17:06 for a thousand years. The same ones that are active today 17:09 tempting, working with the devil to try to cause people to fall 17:14 and be lost. They're going to be bound to the earth for 1000 17:18 years with no one to tempt. With nothing to do. A thousand years. 17:23 Now I'm going to just add something here to kind of give 17:27 you... We didn't talk about this but here's the reason why it's a 17:30 thousand years. When you follow the cycles of seven, and I like 17:36 that statement Ellen White makes She says the great controversy 17:39 has been going on for nearly 6000 years is soon to come to a 17:44 close. The Bible has time periods referred to as in cycles 17:54 of seven. And each cycle is talked about... My mind just 18:01 right now I got warm rush here that is called the... I'll come 18:07 back to it in a moment. But at the end of the cycle of sixes 18:10 the land returned to its rightful owner. Would you 18:15 believe? Praise the Lord. Thank you for those of you who are 18:18 awake tonight. At the beginning of the jubilee the land returns 18:23 to the rightful owner and during that time the land is allowed to 18:29 rest but when the controversy is over for 1000 years is the 18:35 land is returned to its rightful owner and the land is allowed 18:40 to rest. There's no activity on the earth at all. That even 18:42 applied to slaves or servants. When the jubilee came they have 18:47 to return, the slaves were set free, the servant was set free. 18:49 And the land was given back. And even in the agricultural 18:53 setting the Bible talks about this when they planted for the 18:56 seventh time, the land rested so that it could replenish 19:00 itself and at the end of that year of rest, then it was ready 19:04 to be planted again. So a lot of the cycles in the Bible 19:07 follow the term the jubilee, the jubilee cycle. There's more 19:12 things that we could apply to it later on. Now let's go to the 19:16 center section what happens to continue the millennium. Section 19:20 B, here we are. During the thousand years, saints reign 19:25 with Christ for how long? A thousand years, because they 19:30 were caught up to be with Christ That's in Revelation 20:4. 19:34 Saints also participate in the judgment. Now in what way do 19:38 they participate in the judgment Let me just make this statement. 19:40 They don't participate in the judgment in the sense of meting 19:43 out the punishment. But they participate in the judgment 19:47 seeing that the decisions that are made by Christ are just and 19:50 Because Jesus Himself is the judge. The Father judges no one 19:55 but has given all judgment to the Son. The other one: The 19:59 earth is completely desolate. Here is the reference Jeremiah 20:01 4:23-26. No man, no birds, the cities are broken down by the 20:07 fierceness of God and by His anger the cities are broken 20:10 at the presence of the Lord. But the Bible also says in verse 26, 20:14 Yet He will not make a full end. Look at the next one. All the 20:17 wicked are still dead. Revelation 20:5. But the rest of 20:24 the dead lived not again till the thousand years are finished. 20:27 And then finally Satan and his angels bound to earth. Jude and 20:35 2 Peter call it chains. Call it what? Chains. The earth is going 20:40 to be dark. The light, they Bible talks about that. It says 20:47 as though the lights had been blotted out as though the earth 20:50 is wrapped in darkness and desolation and for a thousand 20:53 years the chain of circumstances bound in darkness because you 20:57 don't really handcuff together. You really can't. 21:01 But the circumstances under which sin has led him to be in 21:06 will be the reason why he is imprisoned for a thousand years. 21:10 Let me give you another example. You can put somebody on an 21:14 island, let me just use this as an example. We've got to 21:17 Australia for many, many years but I learned the history of 21:20 Australia. Australia used to be a place where prisoners from 21:26 England were sent all the way down to this rock, way down in 21:32 Australia. And when you go to Australia sometimes some of the 21:36 people will joke around with you and say be careful, my relatives 21:39 are prisoners. You know, they say be careful, my relatives 21:42 started out by being in prison. The fact of the matter is you 21:46 can put them on that piece of land with no jail, with no 21:50 chains and just drive away or float away and where do they go? 21:56 So they can roam around the entire continent of Australia 22:02 and where do they go? Nowhere. They're bound by circumstances. 22:10 Like Siberia. Don't ever want to go there. Let's look at the last 22:14 part before we start a new lesson. So these are there. 22:17 First up in section C, here it is. New Jerusalem descends to 22:23 the earth. The end of the thousand years, the new 22:26 Jerusalem descends to the earth. As we study further about heaven 22:30 we'll point out the new Jerusalem doesn't descend to the 22:33 earth with the saints in it. It descends first and then Jesus 22:37 comes back with his saints. What a time it's going to be because 22:41 the walls are going to be clear. I'll tell you about that in just 22:43 a moment. But I'm not going to go too much into that. Then the 22:46 second resurrection takes place. The resurrection of the 22:48 righteous or the wicked? The wicked. Then the wicked attack 22:54 the new Jerusalem. The Bible doesn't give a particular time 22:58 frame of who long this is going to take but somehow he 23:00 convinces all these evil men of the ages, go far back as you can 23:05 think, all the way back from Cain if in fact he's going to be 23:09 in that number, all the way to the last power that reigned. 23:14 All these evil men and their evil machines are going to 23:16 somehow think when they see this glorious city, they're going to 23:21 think that they can overtake the city. Let's go on. The wicked 23:25 attack the new Jerusalem and then the White Throne Judgment 23:28 occurs. You'll find that in Revelation 20:11-13. The White 23:32 Throne Judgment occurs. Now what is the result of the White 23:36 Throne Judgment? That's when the books are opened and those who 23:41 who are wicked will be judged according to their works. Then 23:44 what takes place, again? The second death occurs. How does 23:47 the second death occur? Someone tell me. Fire came down from God 23:52 out of heaven and what? Devoured them. Not only does the fire 23:56 come down but the earth became a lake of fire. In the same way 24:01 that the earth was destroyed by water, there was no ocean 24:04 somewhere where people were thrown in to drown. The earth 24:08 became an entire planet of water this time it will be will be an 24:11 entire planet of fire. Then finally, let's say the 24:14 last one together: 24:15 Sin Eradicated Eternally. Let's say that one more time. Sin 24:19 what? Eradicated Eternally. It's hard to think that way, isn't it 24:25 Think about it. It's hard to think about anything not 24:29 existing any longer. It's hard to think that one day we won't 24:34 have any more struggles. But I want to tell you tonight, one 24:35 day there'll be no more temptation. Amen. Thank you 24:40 David. One day there'll be no more heartache, no more 24:43 suffering, no more death, no more trials, no more anger, no 24:47 more hostility, no more deception. Can I go on? I'll be 24:50 here for weeks because there's so much wrong with this world 24:52 there's so much wrong with this planet, so much wrong with this 24:56 human heart that the Lord will eradicate sin eternally. And so 25:03 here's the best way to be happy about that. Here's the best way 25:07 to be happy about that last statement. If you begin to live 25:13 a righteous life before Jesus comes you won't be sad when sin 25:19 is eradicated because your life will not include the things of 25:23 sin. And I do have big ears. If you begin to include in your 25:31 life those things that are connected to heaven, you will 25:34 not miss the things connected to earth when Jesus comes back. 25:37 The reason why Lot's wife lost her life is because her 25:43 affections were still where God was trying to take her from. 25:48 If your affections... That's why the Bible says set your 25:50 affections on things where? Above and not on things of the 25:54 earth. I'm not going to condemn anybody. There are some people 25:58 live lavishly and wealthy and just have all these... You know 26:01 they've got the whole garage with 16 cars, all the models. If 26:06 they can afford that, fine. If their heart's not connected to 26:09 that, wonderful. But I've seen some situations 26:11 I'm thinking to myself, you know you really want the Lord to come 26:14 back? They'll not have a chance to drive their new car just 26:15 imported from Germany. You know. Nothing wrong with having those 26:21 things, there are very wealthy people spoken of in the Bible 26:23 so wealth is not a sin. I don't want to give that impression at 26:26 all. Somebody one said that money doesn't buy happiness 26:30 and somebody else responded, give me a chance to conclude 26:32 that myself. But if your heart is connected to this money, 26:36 remember the Lord says you cannot serve God and money. 26:38 There are some individuals and James brings out a continual 26:43 _ each of those who gather up riches for the last days. 26:47 what happens is where your treasure is there will your 26:51 heart be also. So if you love all the things you're surrounded 26:54 with it's hard to say it's time to leave the city. Wait a minute. 26:58 You mean I've 26:59 got to leave all this behind. Well the fact of the matter is 27:02 and here's the bulletin for tonight. This is the truth of 27:07 the ages: You can't take it with you. Amen? So you might as well 27:12 leave it. The only choice is leave it or burn with it. I'm 27:17 not burning with the car, what do you think? That rich young 27:21 ruler, he had it all. I was reading about that earlier this 27:24 week and I discovered that it was not only his possessions. He 27:29 wanted eternal life but he did not want Jesus to be his leader. 27:33 That was the issue. He said what good think shall I do. The Lord 27:40 says follow me. I want eternal life but I don't want to follow 27:42 you. Then he walked but he walked away. He didn't walk with 27:48 Jesus so anytime you don't Jesus to be your leader then you're 27:51 you're moving in the wrong direction. The reason I want 27:53 Jesus as my leader every day is because the Bible says in 27:56 Revelation 14 they follow the Lamb wherever He goes, amen. 28:03 So if you're in the valley of the shadow you may be on the 28:08 hilltop, follow the Lamb wherever He goes and we're going 28:12 out tonight where he went and how wonderful it is to 28:15 be ready for 28:17 where the Lord presently is. Amen? So let's go to our new 28:20 lesson. We just went through an outline and those of you who 28:22 followed along in our final outline, the specifics are in 28:26 lesson number 25. But tonight our new lesson is entitled The 28:32 Truth About Heaven and the New Earth. You know that as I've 28:37 listened to this lesson, I've just been amazed how many 28:43 times and I'm going to say that I've even heard it sometimes 28:45 amongst us, how people get things mixed up. I'm going to 28:51 give you one drop, one drop of something to think about. 28:53 Because I've heard people say this... I remember when I 28:56 was growing up I used to say the very same thing. When I lost my 29:00 puppy, when I lost my dog, I lost my favorite pet, I would 29:02 ask is he going to be in heaven? But we'll discover where pets 29:07 are going to be. We'll discover what the Bible says about heaven 29:12 about heaven and the New Earth. What is going to be there, who 29:16 is going to be there, what's going to be there and what's not 29:18 going to be there. All right. So let's not... Because so many 29:23 people have all these, you know statements about what's going 29:25 to be in heaven and sometimes we even mix up text 29:30 and sometimes even people perceive it, Oh when I get to 29:33 heaven I'm going to the heavenly zoo. Think about it. The lion 29:38 shall lay down with the lamb. We say that. That's in the 29:43 Bible. I'll just tell you this now so we can break it down a 29:46 little later. The lion and lamb are going to be in the New Earth 29:49 Not in heaven. I want to follow this very carefully. We going to 29:53 talk about that later on. Now your wheels are spinning. Okay 29:59 we'll talk about it a little later, all right? The New Earth 30:02 is going to be the creation restored. Remember that. When 30:07 God created the earth during the week He created animals. He 30:12 didn't send them down here. He created animals. Then He 30:17 created Adam and Adam named all the animals. Jesus is coming 30:21 back for His church and in the New Earth my own personal desire 30:28 and I said this one day to a little child who said is my 30:31 puppy, just a puppy, when we lost our only dog that we had as 30:34 a married couple, it was a long time ago. We were so torn by 30:40 seeing him hit right in front of us. You know we just bought him 30:43 a brand new chain. Somebody had given him to us when I was 30:47 going passing around Thanksgiving baskets in the 30:50 mountains of Northern California I went to a house and the lady 30:53 said I want to give you something and she took me to her 30:56 back yard and there was a dog that had a litter of puppies and 30:59 I picked the one that was most estranged from the whole pile 31:02 and I named him Snuggles. He was a chow-Labrador. And wherever I 31:07 went... Just imagine pulling out from the church and there's a 31:14 whole long line of traffic behind me going really slow 31:16 and I'm thinking why are they going so slow? Then I see this 31:21 little brown dot in the middle of the traffic and it's my dog 31:24 running in front of all the cars and trucks because he's trying 31:27 to catch up with me. That's how close he was. When I'd stop 31:30 I'd say Snuggles you're going to get killed. 31:32 I'd stop and he'd jump 31:34 in the car right into my lap and stick his head out the window 31:37 or I'd lay on the couch and he'd jump on my chest and put his 31:40 face right here and he'd go (big sigh) and we had such a 31:44 connection. Very loyal dog. And then one evening we went to the 31:47 store and he was so used to just running and he heard a dog 31:52 bark across the road, just two lanes, one each direction, and 31:55 he ran out right across the road at night and a pickup truck hit 32:01 him and knocked him way up in the air and he landed and he 32:03 died in my arms. 32:04 After that we never got a puppy again. Oh the pain of 32:08 death. And we called a deacon and he buried him in the 32:10 mountains of California. And after that man I think for a 32:15 week we were not even any good. We'd see a piece of hair in the 32:18 house, I'm talking about the new earth okay. 32:20 And so I thought in the new 32:21 earth there are going to be some dogs, there are going to be some 32:24 pets, there are going to be some animals and horses, why not 32:26 mine? Come on say amen somebody. But here's my point. If he's not 32:30 there I'm not going to be upset. Can I get an amen? Whatever the 32:35 Lord decides will be better than what we have now. Isn't that 32:37 right? So let's not 32:39 get bent out of shape and give God a list of all the reasons 32:41 why we... 32:42 Lord if you have this in the new earth I'll go. I've heard some 32:49 people say if he's not going to be in heaven I don't want to be 32:53 there. And I thought to myself if you don't want to be in 32:58 heaven, I'm not pointing at you, if you don't want to be in 32:59 heaven I'm not losing it because you don't want to be there. 33:01 Amen somebody. I'm going because Jesus is going to be there right 33:05 That's the number one reason why we're going. Not because 33:07 Oh if my cousin doesn't make it I don't want to be... I've heard 33:09 somebody say if my brother's not going to be there I don't 33:11 want to be there. Then I guess you both won't be there. I don't 33:14 want to be very harsh but the fact of the matter is the only 33:17 reason why we should go is because Jesus is going to be 33:19 there. Not for mansions, not for golden streets, not for fruit. 33:22 We're going because that's the place to be. So tonight let's 33:26 begin with a promise. Question number one, here it is: 33:34 What promise did Jesus make? John 14, all you theologians 33:39 know this very well. John 14:1-3 where we find our answer tonight 33:44 In this world where so many things are going wrong this text 33:47 is a constant comfort. You know that one day there's going to be 33:51 a permanent change. Here it is: On the screen, John 14:1-3: 33:56 Let's read this together. We all know this. I think we should all 33:58 recite this together. Together here we are: 34:27 I want to be where Jesus is. Jesus already came down to be 34:30 where I am. But this time I want to be where He is, amen? You see 34:34 what people don't understand... We've traveled right now I think 34:37 on our list we've been to 52 countries. I want you to turn 34:40 with me to the book of Hebrews 9 We've been to 52 countries, 34:43 matter of fact, Hebrews 11 not Hebrews 9. We've been to 52 34:48 countries and I haven't seen a country yet that I'm willing to 34:52 trade for heaven. I haven't seen a country on earth yet... I mean 34:57 I haven't been to Dubai yet. I've heard about... My good 35:00 friend Doug Bachelor went to Dubai and you know he comes from 35:03 a lot of wealth. His dad was a billionaire, it's hard to 35:07 impress him. He said to me, John you know it's hard, it's hard to 35:10 impress me. I was impressed. Dubai, the tallest building in 35:14 the world. He said you walk in the hotel lobby and everything's 35:18 gold. I mean, the best of the best, the best of the best of 35:22 the best. Gold plated and platinum plated things all 35:24 around you. It's just money flowing. And I found out that 35:27 like over a hundred million dollars a day, I forgot, a crazy 35:33 amount, a hundred million dollars a day flow into these 35:35 areas just because of the oil. I mean that's a small amount I'm 35:38 sure I'm way off by a whole lot. So if you have the money flowing 35:43 in you got to find something to do with it. I want to tell you 35:47 as I read this text not even Dubai is a place I want to be 35:51 eternally. Come on, amen somebody. Hebrews 11:9: The 35:55 Bible says by faith, speaking about Abraham, he sojourned in 36:00 the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in 36:06 tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same 36:10 promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations whose 36:17 builder and maker is God. Verse 16. But now they desire a better 36:26 that is a what kind of country? A heavenly country for God is 36:31 not ashamed to be called their God for he has, together, 36:37 prepared a city for them. Tonight there's a city prepared 36:41 for us. A wonderful city and it's a city of peace because the 36:47 Prince of peace reigns there. A city of no violence. When you 36:50 compare this city the Bible talks about in Revelation to the 36:53 city that Isaiah talked about, go to Isaiah 24, let's look at 36:59 the city as Isaiah sees the earth, and this is just the tip 37:02 of the iceberg. Isaiah 24 here it is. Isaiah 24 Hmm talking 37:17 about the day of judgment and tribulation to come. Everybody's 37:20 going to be involved. Start with verse 1. Behold the Lord 37:24 makes the earth empty and makes it waste, distorts its surface 37:31 and scatters abroad its inhabitants. And notice how many 37:34 will be affected, verse 2. And it shall be: As with the people 37:38 so with the priest; as with the servant so with his master; as 37:41 with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer so 37:44 with the seller; as with the lender so with borrower; as with 37:47 the creditor, so with the debtor The land shall be entirely 37:51 emptied and utterly plundered. For the Lord has spoken this 37:56 word. Notice what he says. Verse 4: The earth mourns and 38:00 fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty 38:04 people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under 38:08 its inhabitants, because the people that live here, us. 38:11 Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, 38:14 broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured 38:19 the earth and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the 38:24 inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men are left. 38:29 That means so little after the devastation, so little. That's 38:33 the condition of the world we live in now compared to the 38:36 world that the Lord is preparing for us. Amen. So let's put the 38:39 answer to question number one. What promise did Jesus make 38:42 concerning His desire to have us with Him? I will come again. 38:51 Write that. He will come again. He will return. I will come back 38:58 I will come again. The reason why he's coming back is 39:01 because, while we 39:03 live here we're not citizens down here. Right? When you 39:08 accepted Jesus Christ you changed your citizenship You got 39:11 a different passport. See when I travel there that country of 39:17 origin, country of nationality, USA, USA. When I get to the new 39:24 Jerusalem they'll say, passport please. Citizen of heaven, amen. 39:30 I've got the proof today. Go to Philippians 3. Got the proof for 39:34 that. Philippians 3 look at this. Philippians 3. Okay here we are. 39:46 Okay here it is: Philippians 3. Look at verse 20 and verse 21. 39:54 Citizens, citizens. For our citizenship is where? In heaven, 40:02 from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus 40:07 Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be 40:11 be conformed to His glorious body according to the working 40:16 by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. 40:20 So where is our citizenship? It's in heaven. As an evangelist 40:25 would sing years ago, Is your name written there. Praise the 40:30 Lord. That's why He's coming back to get us because would it 40:34 make sense... When we had that terrible tragedy of September 40:36 11, 2001. We arrived in Canada on United Airlines airplane and 40:42 because we were on an American carrier we were allowed to come 40:45 into America. Here's the key. Because we have a heavenly 40:50 citizenship we'll be allowed to go to heaven, amen. That's the 40:54 key reason the heavenly citizenship is stamped on 40:57 the passport the blood of Jesus Christ. Let's go to question 41:00 number two. Here it is: Question number two... 41:11 There's a reason here. Go to John 3:13. Okay. Oh. 41:24 John 3:13. Here it is: The Bible says: 41:40 That is the Son of man who is in heaven. Now let me put this 41:43 together because I know you're thinking of Elijah, you're 41:45 thinking of Moses, you're thinking of Enoch. They did not 41:49 ascend to heaven. They were carried to heaven. Did you hear 41:53 that? They didn't ascend on their own power. They were 41:58 carried. Swept away in a chariot of fire, see. Enoch walked with 42:02 God and remember God took him and Moses, the Lord 42:06 resurrected him. He was a trophy of those who will come forth 42:09 from the grave in the resurrection. They did not 42:12 ascend on their own power like the saints are going to ascend 42:16 on the power of Christ. So what this is talking about here, 42:20 there's no one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from 42:24 heaven than is the Son of man who is in, was up, came down, 42:28 went back. Is that clear? Now the reason I'm bringing this up 42:32 is I'm going to go to the very next question and I'm going to 42:35 address this issue about the new show Heaven is for Real, or this 42:39 new movie Heaven is for Real. Where this little kid said he 42:42 went to heaven. I'm not going to mention anything right now 42:46 but I just but let's just go on to the question number two. What 42:48 reason does the Bible give for the necessity of Jesus' return? 42:51 No one has ascended to heaven How many? No one. Tonight loved 42:57 ones are not in heaven, Liberace is not there, Dean Martin is not 43:00 there, Frank Sinatra is not there, Michael Jackson's not 43:03 there. NO ONE has ascended to heaven. And we know the reason 43:06 why no one has ascended. It's because we cannot ascend 43:11 until we are changed 43:12 to be immortal. Amen? Isn't that right? The Bible says, when 43:17 this mortal puts on immortality and that happens at 43:22 last trumpet. But that's not happened as yet. Until this 43:25 mortal puts on immortality and this corruptible puts on 43:29 incorruption, mortality cannot exist in the presence of an 43:33 immortal God. David the Psalmist says our God is a consuming fire 43:37 What will happen to perishable things in the presence of a fire 43:42 Come on tell me, what will happen Burned up like dry leaves 43:45 on a summer day. It'll burn up just like that. Our God is a 43:49 consuming fire. But if you're immortal, you'll be able to 43:54 walk into the presence of God without being consumed. And only 43:56 as you are clothed in the character of Christ 43:59 can you walk in the 44:01 presence of His Father and not be consumed. That's the 44:05 qualification, not your righteousness but His 44:09 righteousness. No one has ascended but He came down. 44:12 That was a big issue with the Jews. Well wait a minute, wait 44:15 a minute. He said how did you get fed in the wilderness? Well 44:21 ah our father Moses fed us with the bread that came down from 44:25 heaven. He did didn't he? And Jesus said to the Jewish leaders 44:29 Young man, young Jesus, well I am the bread that came down from 44:36 heaven. You're not even old enough. How are you the bread 44:43 that came down from heaven? For those who understood as 44:49 Jesus said to the woman at the well. He didn't argue with the 44:53 Pharisees. They were determined to tell Jesus He's not the bread 44:56 But once she met Jesus and found that He is the Christ she 45:00 says give me of that water that I may never thirst again. That's 45:04 the right response. They said you're not the bread and she 45:07 said you are the water, give me that water that I might not 45:11 thirst again. So one has ascended. So put that as the 45:13 number two question. What reason does the Bible give for the 45:15 necessity of Jesus' return? No one has ascended. We cannot 45:18 ascend to heaven without the power of Christ. We're not going 45:23 on our own recognizance, we're not flying away. People sing 45:25 that song, I'll Fly Away. No you'll be on the wings of Christ 45:30 You'll be going on his wing. We'll be flying but not on our 45:34 recognizance. When I die, I'll fly away. Bulletin: NOT. Won't 45:41 happen. Number three. How did Jesus confirm that man cannot go 45:49 to heaven until He returns. Cannot go to heaven until He 45:54 returns. Question number three. All right. How did Jesus 45:58 confirm that? Oh man. There's so many of these responses I 46:03 had to pick one of them. I had to pick one of them. Because 46:05 Jesus was clear, Jesus was so clear. I thank the Lord for the 46:11 clarity of His word. Can you say Amen to that? John 13:33, Here's 46:17 what the word of the Lord says, from the lips of Jesus. He 46:22 says... 46:38 Then he goes on to the very next verse. He says: Love one another 46:42 and He made at least four statements. He says, Where I am 46:45 going you cannot come. You know the way but you can't come. I'll 46:49 come back to get you. You cannot come. Where are you going Jesus? 46:52 And He said to them you know the way, but let's put it this way: 46:55 I am the way, the truth and the life. But you can't come. I'll 46:59 be back. So People cannot go. So when somebody says that they 47:05 went to heaven... I mean years ago there was a book 47:07 Twenty-two Minutes in Heaven. Forty Minutes in Hell. Again 47:14 about 25 years ago all of a sudden, for those of you who are 47:19 more mature, I'm not referring to the kids here, but all of a 47:21 sudden we started having these reports of people seeing these 47:25 lights. Remember that? They're going toward a light, they're 47:29 going toward a light. I saw the light. And they said that the 47:32 light was warm and embraced me and then this little kid came 47:37 back with the foresight well everybody's going to be there 47:39 nobody's going to be lost. And the devil, like he did years ago 47:43 in that evil movie Poltergeist. I saw it before I was converted. 47:55 He communicates lies through innocent voices. Subtle. Daddy I 47:59 saw grandpa there. 48:04 What did he look like? He had on, he had on... I saw my baby 48:08 sister, the one that died before she was born. What'd she look 48:09 like? And he describes her. Then you must have been there. Don't 48:15 even know the devil's been around longer than his baby 48:18 sitter's been around. The devil and his angels. People have 48:24 deleted Satan and his angels from the center of the world. 48:29 Now days particularly it's preference, lifestyle, 48:33 I prefer this way, you prefer it that way. Tradition. 48:36 I was saying to somebody yesterday. 48:39 I don't believe in traditional marriage. 48:40 I really don't. I believe in Biblical marriage. Traditions 48:46 change don't they. Whatever society _ tradition. Let's 48:50 start a new tradition. We'll all go to church, left foot first, 48:53 right foot next. Tradition. But the Bible doesn't change. Am I 48:58 right? So if somebody argues with you about traditional 49:00 marriage say I don't believe in traditional marriage. Let 49:02 them sit there and simmer. Aren't you a Christian. Yeah but 49:05 I do not believe in traditional marriage. Let them sit there and 49:10 sweat a little bit. I believe in scriptural marriage. Amen? That 49:13 is constant and you cannot argue with me based on my religious 49:16 freedom. That's what I'm basing it on, not my tradition. 49:20 So here's the point. Where I'm going you cannot come. So if 49:22 people say they went to heaven, they didn't go. Let me justify 49:26 what is clear. Because the Bible talks about the prophets that 49:31 had glimpses of heaven. Some people dream. I had a dream a 49:34 few nights ago. It wasn't about heaven but I'm sure that some of 49:38 us somewhere along the way in our lifetime may have dreamed of 49:40 something glorious and woke up in the morning and desired from 49:42 that day on to live righteous because the dream was so 49:45 beautiful about heaven and even the presence of Jesus. 49:48 One day I did have a dream, I told my wife about it the next 49:51 morning. I dreamed that I was in a room, just me and Jesus, and 49:55 we had such a one-to-one conversation. No one was there 49:58 and I woke up that next morning and I said, I've seen Jesus. The 50:03 Bible says no one has seen the Father and the Son. And I said 50:07 Ah how wonderful. It was a dream And in the Bible, the Bible also 50:14 talks about visions that prophets had. Go to Revelation 50:16 chapter 4. Let's give you an example. So how does Jesus 50:19 confirm that man cannot go to heaven until He returns? He says 50:24 where I am going you cannot come. The reason why you're 50:29 not coming until 50:30 you've changed. We're not going in the condition that we're in. 50:33 Revelation 4. Let's look at some examples in the Bible. 50:36 Revelation 4, okay. This is the text that's often used to 50:44 bolster the rapture or the secret rapture. But there's no 50:48 secret rapture in this thing. Let's read the verse. 50:52 Revelation 4:1: After these things I looked and behold a 50:56 door standing open where? In heaven. And the first voice 51:01 which I heard was like a trumpet Oftentimes those who believe in 51:06 rapture connect this to the last trumpet. Does this say this is 51:09 the last trumpet. It said a trumpet. And then they say 51:13 speaking with me saying come up hither, as the King James, or 51:17 come up here and I will show you things which must take 51:20 place after this. And notice how he was caught up. Immediately I 51:27 was in the Spirit. The Spirit began to impress upon him. 51:31 That was the work of 51:32 Holy Spirit to bring to his mind what God wanted him 51:35 to see. He was still on the earth. And behold a throne set 51:40 in heaven and one sat on the throne and He who sat there was 51:45 like a jasper and a Sardis stone in appearance and there was a 51:49 rainbow about the throne in appearance like an emerald. I'll 51:54 tell you, the devil has taken a symbol that belongs to Christ 51:57 and has made it a putrid symbol in society, the rainbow. That's 52:02 what he does. So you see here, I'm not going to read the whole 52:05 thing, you get a chance to do that, and you'll see in this 52:08 very verse one of the activities of the angel is to praise God 52:11 day and night. The four and twenty elders, the angels, they 52:15 praise the Lord day and night and they say in verse 11 of the 52:19 same chapter, You are holy oh Lord to receive glory and honor 52:25 and power for you created all things and by your will they 52:32 exist and were created. So John is caught up in vision. 52:35 But where is John? Somebody tell me. Where is he? On the Isle of 52:40 Patmos, but he's caught up in vision. He's in chains. He's a 52:44 prisoner. But God has given him a glimpse of the 52:47 heavenly abode of 52:50 God. He's given him a glimpse but he's not there. But today 52:54 one of the reason why these things have been happening 52:56 more so over the last 25, 30 years is because Satan is 53:00 setting the world up for the ultimate deception. 53:03 The Resurrection is a new film. Don't watch it. I don't watch it 53:06 I don't watch it. Don't watch it Don't even... There's a film 53:09 called The Resurrection. A little boy comes back after 53:12 being dead 20 years. I saw the commercial and what's your son's 53:16 name... Only the father and the son know this. They said it'll 53:23 challenge everything you've ever believed. That what they said. 53:25 It'll challenge everything you think. But that's exactly what 53:28 the devil wants you to do. You know what he wants you to 53:29 challenge? The word of God. That's really what he wants you 53:32 to challenge. But the Bible says But that, what, I'm coming home, 53:40 I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home. They play that 53:44 in the background so you can hear that ethereal voice in your 53:47 head all day long. No. Here's what I think. Jesus is coming 53:53 again (sung loudly). He's coming and we're going home. Ain't no 53:56 dead people coming back to my house. Right? In the book of Job 54:03 the Bible says, He shall not awake... Job 14. Since you made 54:08 me go there let's go to Job 14. Look at this. I'm thanking God 54:13 for His word. You know what, the only think that will secure you 54:16 from the deception to come is a thus saith the Lord. Isn't that 54:19 right? Don't believe in any experience no matter how warm 54:23 it feels. It's a lie. Job 14. It's a lie. People, oh but I 54:34 witnessed it myself. Well you just got deceived, that's what 54:37 it's called, deception, right? Job 14 starting with verse 10: 54:43 Okay, I'm going to start reading because I don't have _ 54:47 But man dies and 54:49 is laid away, indeed he breathes his last and where is he? As 54:54 water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and 54:58 dried up, so man lies down and does not rise. Come on say that 55:06 together, does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they 55:10 shall not awake nor be roused from their sleep. Oh, that you 55:15 would hide me in the grave, that you would conceal me until your 55:18 wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time and 55:22 remember me! If a man dies shall he live again? All the days of 55:26 my hard service I will wait till my change comes. What change? 55:31 From mortal to immortal One more Job chapter 17. Now they have 55:37 this new phrase called home- going services. Well I've got an 55:40 answer for that one too. Praise the Lord. Job 17, home-going 55:45 we're doing home-going. They ain't going home. They 55:48 going to the 55:49 cemetery. But they want to call it a home, the Lord has 55:51 something for that too. Here it is. Job 17:13. If I wait for the 55:59 grave as my house... Home-going is where? The grave. If I make 56:04 bed in the darkness, if I say to corruption you are my father 56:08 and to the worm you are my mother and my sister. Where is 56:13 my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? Will they go down to the 56:17 gates of Sheol (that's the grave), shall we rest together 56:20 in the dust. That's their home, the dust? From dust thou art, 56:25 the Lord said to Adam, unto dust thou shalt return. 56:28 They're in the dust, so don't 56:30 get deceived. The Lord says... Did we just get to number three, 56:33 that's it? The Lord says where I am going you cannot come. So 56:38 tonight my brothers and sisters, let's make sure that we are 56:41 prepared for the coming of the Lord, not for some new Hollywood 56:45 production that either the resurrection's taking place or 56:50 heaven is real. Heaven IS for real, right? Don't get that 56:53 mixed up, but we don't go at different times. We all go 56:57 together. We all go at the same time. The Lord is going to 57:01 descend, He's coming back with a trumpet to wake up all of our 57:03 loved ones who are resting in Jesus. Isn't that wonderful? And 57:07 when that trumpet blows the dusty graves from all over the 57:11 earth of all the sleeping saints will be opened. They'll come 57:14 forth immortal, 57:17 perfectly reproduced in the character of Christ. They'll be 57:19 no more sighing, no sin, no death, no suffering, no scars, 57:22 no wrinkles. They're going to be perfect for the first time. 57:28 Smooth, no tattoos David said. Everything's going to be fixed. 57:33 God is going to get us ready for a place and a time that we have 57:37 never had in our lives. And as the Apostle Paul said, Eyes have 57:39 not seen, ears have not heard it and it hasn't even entered 57:43 into our minds or hearts what God has prepared for those that 57:47 love Him. So here's my encouragement. Heaven is for 57:51 real. We're going to continue studying about heaven, but if 57:53 you hear things that don't make sense consult the word of God 57:56 and sooner or later it'll come into A Sharper Focus. May God 58:01 continue to bless you. 58:02 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-01-13