Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000092
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00:20 Hello, friends, welcome to another Wednesday night
00:22 Bible study here at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:25 Thank you so much for taking the time to join us. 00:28 And we know that if this is your first time, 00:31 we'd like to welcome those 00:32 who are joining us for the first time 00:34 whether by satellite, by television, 00:36 or like my sister-in-law lives here in Orlando, Florida. 00:39 Oh, I should say in Ocoee, Florida by Roku box. 00:42 Welcome tonight to our live audience 00:44 as we continue studying the Word of God together. 00:47 Can we all say amen? Amen. 00:49 And I should've said, we'll say welcome, 00:51 but we know that some are joining us 00:53 from around the world, 00:55 some are joining us locally on local television, 00:57 whatever the medium, 00:58 we know that God is gonna bless you tonight 01:00 as we study the Word of God together. 01:02 Our topic, we're continuing on, 01:04 matter of fact the overall theme 01:06 is how to know the truth about the truth. 01:10 Now the truth is Jesus, 01:12 He is the way, the truth and the life. 01:14 But whatever the Bible teaches about Jesus is the truth 01:17 about the truth, the truth about the truth. 01:21 Anything the Bible teaches about Jesus 01:23 reveals who He is in personality 01:26 and in character. 01:28 Now I'll tell you in just a moment 01:30 where to find a copy of the lesson. 01:31 But before we do anything, 01:32 let's bow our heads 01:34 and invite the Lord's presence to be with us. 01:36 Heavenly Father, we thank You that when we open Your Word, 01:41 You promise to come into our hearts. 01:43 And, Lord, tonight, open our hearts 01:44 that as we open Your Word 01:47 that the power can flow from Your Word to our hearts 01:50 and it can change our lives 01:53 that what we learn tonight 01:55 will not only increase our understanding, 01:58 but will increase our dedication to Jesus. 02:01 This is our prayer. 02:02 Holy Spirit be our teacher, we pray in Jesus' name. 02:06 Amen. 02:08 Now, lesson number 27, 02:09 if you'd like a copy of that lesson, 02:11 if you have the internet, 02:12 go to this website as it appears on the screen, 02:15 asf.3abn.org. 02:20 Don't put www, 02:21 just asf.3abn.org 02:25 and click on the Study Guides 02:27 and click on lesson number 27, 02:30 "The Truth about God's True Church." 02:34 The Truth about God's True Church. 02:35 There's a lot that's being said about God's true church 02:38 or there's a lot being said today 02:39 about churches in general. 02:40 Tonight, we're gonna cover that topic. 02:42 And I'm always excited 02:43 when we open the Word of God together. 02:45 Can you say amen? Amen. 02:46 And so tonight... 02:48 But before we do that, we have our theme song. 02:50 What's our theme song called? 02:52 "Victory in Jesus." Let's sing that song together. 03:04 I heard an old, old story 03:08 How the Savior came from glory 03:12 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:15 To save a wretch like me 03:19 I heard about His groaning 03:23 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:27 Then I repented of my sin 03:31 And won the victory 03:34 O victory in Jesus 03:38 My Savior, forever 03:42 He sought me and bought me 03:46 With His redeeming blood 03:50 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:53 And all my love is due Him 03:57 He plunged me to victory 04:01 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:05 I heard about a mansion 04:08 He has built for me in glory 04:12 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:16 Beyond the crystal sea 04:20 About the angels singing 04:24 And the old redemption story 04:27 And some sweet day 04:29 I'll sing up there 04:31 The song of victory 04:34 Key change. 04:35 O victory in Jesus 04:39 My Savior, forever 04:42 He sought me and bought me 04:46 With His redeeming blood 04:50 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:54 And all my love is due Him 04:58 He plunged me to victory 05:01 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:05 He plunged me to victory 05:09 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:16 Amen? Amen. 05:17 Victory in Jesus. 05:20 Now, this is the third session 05:23 where we're covering lesson number 27, 05:26 "The Truth about God's True Church." 05:29 Now let me just lay some foundation 05:30 as to why this lesson is so vitally important. 05:34 I mentioned this at the beginning 05:35 of each of these topics 05:36 covering this particular lesson. 05:39 There are in the Christian category 05:43 more than 33,000 churches 05:48 and for the most part, 05:50 each one believing something either vastly different 05:54 or slightly different. 05:56 All claiming to serve one Lord, 06:00 all claiming to serve and follow one Jesus, 06:03 some claiming Jesus to be a lesser God, 06:06 some claiming to be 06:07 that He is equal with the Father. 06:10 Others may think of Him as a good prophet. 06:14 There are some religious denominations 06:16 outside of Christianity, 06:18 where you have Judaism, 06:19 Buddhism, Islam, 06:21 the list goes on and on. 06:23 Even this is startling, 06:24 but even the Church of Satan is listed among churches. 06:29 So you have those that don't believe in God at all. 06:31 You have movements that are esoteric 06:34 in the sense of yoga, 06:37 Zen Buddhism, 06:38 Eastern Mysticism, 06:40 all these Eastern religions 06:42 that claim themselves as a church. 06:45 And in America as well as all around the world, 06:47 each one sets a particular criteria 06:50 to identify itself as a church. 06:52 And in some governments, 06:53 matter of fact, I think it was in 2007, 06:56 I think, I remember very carefully, 06:58 a book written by man, 07:00 by the name of Aleister Crowley or Aleister Crowley, 07:02 however you enunciate his name, 07:05 a very satanic book was officially accepted 07:08 by the United Kingdom as a holy book, 07:11 so even that is included in the genre 07:14 of Christian or religions of the world. 07:17 So tonight if I sent you to Chicago O'Hare, 07:22 or let's say the largest, 07:25 one of the busiest airports in America, 07:28 Atlanta, Georgia, 07:30 I don't know, I forgot the name of that airport, 07:32 but anyhow, you know exactly where I mean. 07:35 The airport in Atlanta, Georgia... 07:37 If I send you to the airport to take a flight 07:38 to go to a specific location at a specific time, 07:41 on a specific airline, 07:43 I think you would really want to know the details. 07:45 Can you say amen to that? Amen. 07:46 I mean, you would want to know the details exactly, 07:48 in order to be able to identify the right airplane. 07:52 You just don't go to the airport 07:54 and pick any plane to get to where you want to go. 07:57 You have to be on the, what plane? 07:59 On the correct plane, on the right plane. 08:02 Now my point is, 08:04 there are many churches identified in the world today, 08:07 and what I want to do as we lay some foundation 08:10 to begin on question number seven 08:12 because we ended last week on question number six, 08:15 in Exodus Chapter 20. 08:16 Let's peek at Exodus Chapter 20. 08:18 Then I'm going to take you to Revelation Chapter 12. 08:21 We're gonna tonight 08:22 walk through a summary of God's Church 08:25 from the Old Testament until Jesus comes. 08:29 A summary of God's picture of His true church 08:33 from Revelation 12:1 08:36 all the way to Revelation 12:17. 08:38 But tonight, I'm just gonna peek back. 08:41 This is not gonna appear on the screen. 08:43 This is a question that I'm gonna ask you 08:45 and we're gonna peek together at Exodus Chapter 20. 08:48 At a particular command that, 08:51 and the reason I'm beginning with this is this command 08:54 is not so welcomed in Christianity 08:57 for whatever reason. 08:59 You know in the Book of Luke, 09:01 Dr. Luke says, 09:02 when he cites the demise of Lot's wife, 09:07 when she turned to a pillar of salt, 09:09 he says to the Christian three simple words, 09:11 what are those words? 09:13 Remember Lot's wife. 09:16 Now, what does that mean? 09:17 If God calls you out, 09:19 the example is don't, what? 09:21 Don't look back. 09:22 If God calls you to go forward, don't what? 09:25 Don't look back. 09:26 Disconnect your affections from those things 09:27 that are behind you. 09:29 And Paul encompasses that 09:31 by saying forgetting those things 09:32 that are behind us. 09:33 Then there's another command by a very wise man, 09:36 and his name is Solomon. 09:38 And he gives this counsel to the young people. 09:40 He says, remember the creator in the days of your youth. 09:43 Is it important for young people to know Jesus? 09:46 Okay, so every church teaches, remember Lot's wife. 09:50 Every church teaches what Solomon said, 09:52 remember the Creator in the days of your youth. 09:56 But so many, too many, 09:58 a large multitude of churches say, 10:01 when God said, remember the Sabbath day 10:03 to keep it holy, forget that. 10:07 So this is vitally important as I lay the foundation 10:09 because when you look at Exodus Chapter 20, 10:11 let's look at this very carefully. 10:13 And most of you have already turned there. 10:15 I'm there now. 10:17 All right, let's look at... 10:19 Let's look at verse 8. 10:25 And we're gonna just read to the beginning of verse 10. 10:28 All right? 10:29 The Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day to," do what? 10:32 "To keep it holy. 10:33 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10:37 but the seventh day 10:40 is the Sabbath of the Lord," 10:44 what's the next two words? 10:45 "Your God." 10:47 Very big statement. 10:49 Because you know, when you reverse it, 10:52 your God is the Lord of the seventh day. 10:57 So if you reverse that the question really is not 10:59 what day is the Sabbath? 11:01 The question really is who is your God? 11:06 That's really what it comes down to. 11:09 Who is your God? 11:10 So if you answer the question, 11:11 the God of creation, 11:13 then you really have responded and there's no more confusion, 11:17 there's no more quandary. 11:19 You have clearly identified that the Lord of creation 11:22 is your God. 11:23 Therefore, you will remember what He said to remember 11:26 and He connects this right to creation. 11:29 Look at verse 11. 11:31 Look at verse 11 of Exodus Chapter 20. 11:33 This remembering is to say, 11:36 I want to remember what my Lord did, 11:38 what my God did, how He created the world. 11:41 And He says, 11:43 this is a weekly reminder to you 11:45 that I am the God of creation, I'm the God of redemption, 11:48 and I am the soon coming King. 11:50 For He says in verse 11 of Exodus Chapter 20, 11:53 "For," in how many days? 11:55 "Six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 11:59 the sea, and all that in them, 12:03 and rested the" what day? 12:05 "Seventh day, therefore or wherefore 12:08 the Lord blessed the Sabbath day," 12:10 and did what else? 12:12 "Hallowed it." 12:13 Now notice this, I want you to keep in mind, 12:15 he's talking... 12:16 Moses is pointing to an event that happened 12:19 when there were only two people on the earth. 12:21 Does anybody have any idea what their names were? 12:23 Come on, what about the man, 12:24 what's his name? Adam. 12:26 And the woman? Eve. 12:27 So there were no Jews around, 12:28 there were no Babylonians around. 12:31 The Christian church was more than 4,000 years 12:34 in the future 12:35 and there were just two individuals, 12:37 and he said to them, in reminding the Jews now, 12:40 as he takes them out of Egypt, 12:42 He's saying, "Wait a minute, 12:43 remember what I did at creation week. 12:45 I need you to remember that 12:46 because now I'm going to send you around the world, 12:50 to proclaim to the rest of the world 12:51 what's vitally important." 12:53 All right? 12:54 Now let's go to Revelation Chapter 12. 12:57 And by the way, as we go to Revelation, Chapter 12, 12:59 let's peek at question number seven very quickly. 13:02 You go to Revelation Chapter 12, 13:04 and if there are those of you 13:05 who are scripturally ambidextrous, 13:07 that means able to look at two verses at the same time. 13:11 Let's go ahead and do that 13:12 because as we ask question number seven, 13:15 we're gonna also read the answer to question seven, 13:18 then we're going to go to Revelation Chapter 12, okay? 13:21 Here's the question. Question number seven. 13:24 Why is the Sabbath so important 13:27 in worshiping God? 13:29 Why is the Sabbath so important 13:32 in worshiping God? 13:33 Let's go to John Chapter 4, 13:35 but keep your tab there in Revelation Chapter 12. 13:39 We're gonna go to John Chapter 4. 13:42 Not 1 John, not 2 John, not 3 John, 13:46 we're gonna go to John, 13:47 the Book of John Chapter 4 13:50 and we're gonna look together at verse 23 and verse 24. 13:56 All right? 13:57 Here's why it's important, so important. 14:00 Why the Sabbath is so important in worshiping God? 14:02 Listen to the words of Jesus. 14:04 Here's what He says, 14:05 John 4:23 and the Bible says, 14:07 "But the hour is coming, and" what? 14:10 "Now is when the," what kind of worshiper? 14:13 "True worshipers 14:15 will worship the Father," in what? 14:18 "Spirit and in truth for the Father 14:21 is seeking such to worship Him." 14:27 Notice what else it says, 14:28 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him," 14:32 what is the next word together? 14:33 "Must worship in spirit and in truth." 14:38 Now let's pause for a brief moment. 14:40 A lot of people say, I'm in the spirit, 14:42 but according to the text, 14:44 you can't be in the spirit and omit the truth 14:48 because the spirit has a job to do. 14:52 So notice the very important context of the verse. 14:55 The hour has come when the, 14:58 what kind of worshiper? 14:59 True worshiper. 15:01 Put this down. 15:02 Why is the Sabbath so important in worshiping God? 15:04 Because God is looking for, what kind of worshipers? 15:07 True worshipers. 15:08 Now let me put this into context 15:10 because I know, 15:11 there are some very deep thinkers 15:12 on the other end of this camera. 15:14 Some individuals may say, 15:15 well, are you saying 15:17 that because I don't keep the Sabbath, 15:18 I'm not a true worshiper. 15:19 The answer is no. 15:22 What's the answer? Say it again. 15:24 No, that's not the answer. 15:25 The answer is, as the Lord reveals to someone 15:29 what He requires of them 15:31 and He says, 15:33 I'm looking for true worshipers. 15:35 And by the way, this conversation 15:36 is taking place with a woman. 15:39 And she is the woman at the... 15:42 She's the woman at the well. 15:45 And she's saying to the Lord, 15:48 well, you know, the Jews and the Samaritans, 15:50 they don't get along anyway. 15:52 And the Lord said, 15:54 so she pointed out the mountain 15:55 in which she worships, and the Lord says, 15:57 "You worship what you don't even know." 16:02 And there are some individuals that worship 16:05 what they don't even know. 16:08 Now it's amazing the conversation 16:09 is taking place between Jesus and a woman. 16:12 Put your caps on. 16:13 What symbol does the Bible use for the church? 16:17 The woman. 16:18 So the Lord is talking to the church today, 16:20 there are many that worship what they don't know 16:23 and they are worshiping in sincerity, 16:25 that woman was worshiping in sincerity. 16:28 She pointed out the mountain, 16:30 our fathers worshiped in that mountain. 16:33 And the Jews bragged about worshiping in Jerusalem. 16:36 And even the Jews boasting on their worship, 16:39 they were standing in front of Jesus 16:40 and he said to them in John 5:39, 16:43 you search the scriptures, for in them 16:45 you think you have eternal life, 16:47 but those are the scriptures 16:49 that testify about Me. 16:50 In other words, let me add the other... 16:51 I'm right here. 16:53 You're looking for me in there, I'm right here. 16:56 And they reject the living word in preference 17:00 for the written word. 17:02 And there are some people today 17:03 that are comfortable with worship, 17:05 but Jesus is looking for what kind of worship? 17:08 Say it again, what kind? 17:10 True worship. 17:11 So when people come to the knowledge of the truth, 17:13 the Lord is saying, okay, 17:15 let's follow the spirit as He leads. 17:16 Let's go to John 16. 17:18 Go to John 16. 17:20 And, you know, I tell you, God is calling us people 17:22 from all over the world. 17:23 I know we're gonna go to Revelation, 17:25 but let's just add another tag on here. 17:27 John, Chapter 16, isn't that what I said? 17:31 John Chapter 16. 17:34 The Lord's got sincere Christians 17:35 in every denomination of the world. 17:38 But let me go ahead and interrupt, 17:40 let me go ahead and turn your featherbed over. 17:44 He doesn't say just stay there, 17:46 He says, as the spirit leads you, 17:50 there's a response that's necessary on your part. 17:52 Look at John 16:13. 17:54 Okay, here I am, I was in the wrong book. 17:57 All right, here it is. John 16:13. 18:00 However, Jesus says, 18:03 "When he the spirit of" what? 18:05 "The Spirit of truth has come, 18:07 He will guide you into most truth." 18:12 What's that word? 18:13 "He will guide you into all truth." 18:16 Let's pause for a brief moment. 18:18 So is there truth. 18:21 But what else is there? 18:22 All truth. 18:23 There's truth, then there's all truth. 18:26 Let me go back 18:28 to the illustration of the airport. 18:29 Hartsfield is the airport in Atlanta. 18:31 Hartsfield. Thank you. 18:32 You communicate that to... Hartsfield. 18:35 I can go to Hartsfield airport in Atlanta. 18:38 I could go to the American Airlines 18:40 ticket counter, 18:42 I could go through security 18:44 and still end up at the wrong gate. 18:47 Matter of fact, 18:50 that's happened to me before 18:54 and my wife and I sat at the gate. 18:55 We were the only two there in Wisconsin or Minnesota, 18:59 one of those two places up North. 19:01 And we said, "Man, 19:03 are we the only two on our way." 19:05 Matter of fact, it was Wisconsin, 19:07 we were getting the fight to Minnesota. 19:08 I said, "Are we the only two that's gonna be on this flight. 19:10 It must be a small commuter plane." 19:12 There we are sitting, sitting, sitting looking, I said, "Man, 19:15 I guess nobody else is showing up, 19:16 we're the only ones here." 19:18 You know what? 19:19 Plane came and left. 19:21 We got to 10 minutes 19:23 before leaving, I said, 19:24 "I think something's wrong. 19:25 That plane is not here. 19:27 Let's go check with the ticket agent." 19:28 We did not hear the change of gate. 19:30 And they said to us, 19:32 "Well, that plane is already departed. 19:34 And we need to rebook you on the next flight. 19:36 Fortunately, sir, there's one more going out tonight. 19:39 Amen? 19:40 So we got on an airplane and made our final destination. 19:42 So we could go to the right airport, 19:45 go through security in the right terminal, 19:49 but the wrong gate 19:50 and sometimes we are content to be at the wrong gate. 19:54 So this message is for those 19:56 who are content to love the Lord. 19:57 Amen? 19:59 These are... 20:00 This is for those who love the Lord. 20:02 This message is for those who say, 20:04 "I want to follow Jesus, 20:06 and I want to be receptive to God's Holy Spirit." 20:09 Let's look at that again. 20:11 I'll read the text from the beginning. 20:12 John 16:13, 20:15 "However, 20:17 when he the spirit of truth has come, 20:18 he will guide you into all truth," 20:21 how much truth? 20:22 "All truth, 20:24 for he will not speak on his own authority. 20:26 But whatever he hears, 20:28 he will speak 20:29 and he will tell you things to come." 20:31 So the work of the Holy Spirit, 20:34 one of the functions of the Holy Spirit 20:35 is to lead God's people into how much? 20:38 All truth. 20:39 Very important because today, 20:41 there's some people that say, 20:43 and believe me after pastoring 27 years, 20:45 I've heard people say, 20:46 "I'm happy with my church, that's your thing, 20:49 you keep that thing. 20:50 This is the religion of my mother. 20:52 My parents, it was good enough for my grandparents." 20:55 I heard one preacher say, 20:56 that shouldn't fit 20:57 because your grandparents didn't come to church 21:00 in a fuel injected vehicle. 21:02 Matter of fact, 21:03 your great grandparents surely didn't. 21:05 They came in a horse and buggy, 21:06 and there is no such thing 21:08 as a fuel injected horse and buggy. 21:10 So don't settle yourself 21:15 into the horse stable 21:16 when you could be in the garage. 21:20 In the time of your grandparents, 21:22 or your great grandparents, or your family's religion, 21:26 there are certain things 21:27 that they may not have understood. 21:28 And Acts tells us, 21:30 at times of ignorance God does what? 21:31 He winks that. 21:33 In other words that they didn't know. 21:34 Like if a kid pours the wrong thing 21:37 in a cup, 21:38 if they put too much sugar, 21:40 a parent doesn't knock the kid out. 21:41 They say, they didn't know. 21:44 If we make mistakes, they didn't know. 21:47 And this is not the age 21:48 where people can walk away and say, 21:51 I don't want to hear it because here's the point. 21:54 We are not only responsible for what we don't know... 21:58 Sorry, we're not only responsible 22:00 for what is the truth, 22:02 but we are responsible for what we could have known. 22:05 Let me rephrase that. 22:06 There's some individuals who say, 22:08 "I don't want to know." 22:09 Well, they think that by not hearing it, 22:10 they're not responsible. 22:12 Well, we are also responsible for what we could have learned. 22:15 When you get to the end of the year in school 22:18 and the teacher says this is our final exam, 22:21 and they say, "Well, I didn't study that." 22:25 She said, "Well, it was in your book, 22:27 and I gave you the book to read." 22:29 And if we're going to be judged 22:31 according to what's in God's book, 22:33 Matthew 4:4 22:34 "Man shall not live by bread alone, 22:36 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 22:40 If we are going to be judged 22:43 according to the things that are written in the book, 22:45 that's also in the Book of Life, 22:46 we should be aware of that. 22:48 Amen? 22:49 So God is looking for true worshipers. 22:51 Now, quickly peek at Revelation 12. 22:54 I'm gonna show you two texts. 22:56 I'm not gonna take a lot of time there 22:57 because we have a lot to cover 22:59 and I want to cover quite a few questions tonight. 23:02 Revelation Chapter 12, 23:04 I mentioned earlier 23:06 and we established in Scripture and in prophecy in particular, 23:09 the Bible uses the woman as a symbol of the church. 23:14 So when the Bible refers to Jesus 23:16 as the husbandman, 23:19 if you are a husband, what do you have? 23:22 Talk to me. What do you have? 23:23 A wife. 23:25 Brother Richard is a husband, he has a wife. 23:27 I'm a husband, I have a wife. 23:29 We all, husband, wife, see. 23:31 If you're a husbandman, you have a wife. 23:34 And when the Lord says, 23:36 "Husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church." 23:39 So the symbol there of the woman is the church. 23:41 Let's look at this very carefully 23:42 with that in mind. 23:44 The Bible says in Revelation 12:1, 23:46 "Now a great sign appeared in heaven, 23:49 a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, 23:54 and on her head, a garland of twelve stars." 23:59 And verse 3, 24:01 I'm gonna just jump down to some of the verses. 24:03 "And another sign appeared in heaven, 24:05 behold, a great, fiery red dragon 24:08 having seven heads and ten horns, 24:10 and seven diadems or crowns on his heads, 24:13 and his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven 24:16 and threw them to the earth. 24:19 And the dragon stood before the woman 24:21 who was ready to give birth, 24:23 to devour her Child as soon as it was born." 24:27 Let me pause briefly. 24:29 Now we know that Mary was the one 24:30 that was gifted 24:32 with the deliverance of Jesus into the world. 24:36 Now, in the literal story 24:38 recorded in the Book of Matthew, 24:39 and also in the Book of Luke, 24:41 we find there 24:42 that there was an attempt to kill the Christ child, 24:45 and Jesus, and Mary, and Joseph were told to flee to Egypt 24:50 until the king that had put forth 24:53 that edict was dead, 24:54 and then it'll be safe for them to come back. 24:56 That was the literal attempt to take His life. 24:59 But there's another spiritual application here 25:01 because the devil 25:03 is not only angry with the woman 25:05 that is ready to deliver this child, 25:08 but the woman has another function. 25:11 Let's go on further to see what happens here. 25:13 And I wanted to go down to identify this dragon. 25:16 Go to Revelation 12:9. 25:18 All right? 25:20 And it says, so, 25:21 verse 9, "The great dragon was cast out, 25:24 that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, 25:27 who deceives," how much of the world? 25:29 "The whole world he was cast to the earth 25:31 and his angels were cast out with him." 25:35 Now, let's go down to the further aspect of this. 25:38 I'm gonna go down. 25:40 Now, who is the dragon? Somebody tell me. 25:42 The devil, 25:43 the serpent of old call the devil and Satan, 25:44 that's clear. 25:46 Who's the woman? The church. 25:47 Now let's go. 25:49 I remember Revelation 12:1 gives us the beginning, 25:51 the introduction to who this woman is. 25:54 Let's see what the attitude of the dragon 25:56 is toward the woman 25:58 as the story comes to a close. 26:01 The last part of the woman, verse 17, 26:06 "And the dragon was enraged or wroth, 26:09 if you have the King James Version, 26:11 "enraged with the woman." 26:13 Another word, Satan was angry with the woman. 26:17 "And went to make war with the rest of her offspring, 26:20 or the remnant of her seed, 26:23 who keep the commandments of God 26:25 and have the," what else? 26:27 "The testimony of Jesus Christ." 26:29 Now, why is this important in identifying the church? 26:33 Because this is a summary of the church. 26:36 From the church as the Lord sees it, 26:38 this woman clothed 26:40 with the sun, the moon, and the stars, 26:41 reflecting the glory of God. 26:43 The Old and the New Testament, 26:45 the 12 tribes, the 12 stars, 26:47 reflecting the Old Testament Church 26:50 as well as the New Testament Church, 26:51 the moon and the sun. 26:53 The moon reflects the sun, 26:55 the sun doesn't reflect the moon, 26:57 the moon reflects the sun. 26:58 So the Old Testament and the New Testament 27:01 combined together 12 tribes, 12 disciples, 27:03 and you find here, 27:05 the woman that the devil is upset with, 27:07 keeps the commandments of God. 27:09 So here's my point 27:10 and we're gonna go to the next question. 27:12 As we go to discussing how the church is established, 27:15 you must keep this in mind. 27:16 If the Lord says 27:18 that His Sabbath is a part of the Ten Commandments, 27:21 and this woman or this church 27:23 keeps the commandments. 27:25 That is something that will make the devil angry, 27:28 would it not? 27:29 So if you are a commandment keeper, 27:31 and you are interested in worshiping God 27:34 by honoring His Ten Commandments, 27:37 then you're doing something that upsets the devil. 27:40 And he's not just slightly upset, 27:41 the Bible says he's angry, he's enraged, 27:44 and he's warring against 27:46 those who keep the commandments of God. 27:47 Now this is an imperative instruction here, 27:51 the church, 27:53 those who follow Jesus should keep His commandments. 27:57 Now let me ask you the question. 27:58 Are you all looking up? Let me ask you the question. 28:00 What's the reason 28:01 we should keep His commandments? 28:03 Somebody tell me. 28:05 Okay, say it again. 28:07 Because we love Him. 28:08 John 14:15. 28:10 Let's peek at that quickly because verse 16, 28:12 we often don't read. 28:13 John 14:15. 28:14 Let's go there very quickly. 28:17 John 14:15. 28:20 You see, by being obedient to what the Lord commands, 28:25 there's a gift that comes along with obedience. 28:29 Like parents like to give their children 28:31 or give them a reward for being obedient. 28:33 Our Heavenly Father does the very same thing. 28:36 He gives a gift, 28:38 He can entrust into the hand of those who are obedient, 28:41 something that He knows they will handle responsibly. 28:45 And He doesn't have to worry about it 28:46 because they've proven 28:47 that they are loyal to the Lord. 28:49 Notice this, John 14:15. 28:51 He says, "If you love Me," do what? 28:54 "Keep My commandments." 28:56 In verse 16, "And," 28:58 see, it says, 29:02 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you," what? 29:05 "Another helper or another comforter, 29:08 that he may abide with you," how long? 29:11 "Forever." 29:12 That's very important. 29:13 If you love the Lord, do what church? 29:15 Keep His commandments. 29:17 Now let's go to question number eight. 29:19 If a person is honoring the Lord 29:21 by keeping His commandments, 29:22 He says, you know what I'm gonna do? 29:24 I'm going to fill you with My Holy Spirit. 29:27 If you want to be obedient, 29:29 if you are willing and obedient, 29:30 I will pray that the Father will give you a comforter, 29:35 and He will abide with you forever. 29:37 Now, the opposite of that is a very startling reality. 29:41 If someone says, 29:44 I love You, Lord, but not that much. 29:48 I'm not going to honor Your commandments. 29:51 Would God entrust 29:53 someone as powerful as the Holy Spirit 29:56 to reside in that individual's life? 29:58 No, you've seen that in the New Testament. 30:01 When the apostles were performing miracles, 30:03 there was another man 30:04 that wanted to use the power of the Holy Spirit 30:06 for his own aggrandizement, his own benefit. 30:09 And we know the rest of the story. 30:11 It was a spirit that took a hold of him 30:13 but not the Holy Spirit, 30:14 the devil nearly... 30:15 Well, you know the rest of the story. 30:17 The devil jumped on him 30:20 and beat him and tore his clothes off 30:22 and he ran naked into the streets. 30:25 Your obedience to Christ must be based on love 30:28 and when you love Him, 30:29 He will fill you with His Spirit 30:32 that will guide you 30:33 and continue leading you into all truth. 30:36 Now how that happens 30:37 in the measures by which that happened 30:39 is not for me to decide. 30:41 But God does reward the heart that is obedient. 30:44 Look at question number eight. 30:46 Question number eight. 30:48 Very important. 30:49 On whom does the Bible reveal the church is built? 30:53 On whom does the Bible reveal the church is built? 30:58 Really, really wonderful question. 31:00 Let's go to 1 Corinthians 3:11. 31:03 1 Corinthians 3:11. 31:07 All right. 31:08 This is important. 31:10 I read an article not too long ago. 31:11 And let me preface it as you turn there by saying, 31:16 if the church is built on man, it's in trouble. 31:21 Any church that's built on man is in trouble. 31:25 Right? 31:28 We're gonna make that point very clear in a moment. 31:30 Any church built on man is in trouble. 31:34 1 Corinthians 3:11. 31:36 Here it is, 31:37 "For no other," read the next word, 31:40 "foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, 31:45 which is Jesus Christ." 31:47 Or Christ Jesus. 31:49 I'm a King James Version guy too, 31:50 it's Christ Jesus in the King James Version. 31:53 So let me ask the question. 31:55 Who is the foundation of the church? 31:56 Jesus. 31:58 Jesus is, write that down. 31:59 Question on number eight, 32:01 on whom does the Bible reveal the church is built? 32:03 Next to 1 Corinthians 3:11, 32:05 write, Jesus Christ, the church is built. 32:09 There's no other foundation. 32:10 What other foundation can you lay it on? 32:13 You know, the Bible talks about stone, 32:14 and brick, and wood, 32:15 and gold, and silver, 32:17 for there's no better foundation than Jesus. 32:20 He's the tried stone. 32:22 He's the cornerstone. 32:25 All right. 32:26 Let's go now to another portion of question number eight. 32:29 Let's go to Ephesians Chapter 5. 32:34 Ephesians Chapter 5. 32:36 I quoted the text a moment ago. 32:37 I want to read it to you now. 32:39 Galatians, Ephesians. 32:41 Ephesians Chapter 5 is where the second portion 32:44 of this question is answered. 32:49 Okay. 32:50 On whom does the Bible reveal the church is built? 32:52 Here is Ephesians 5:23, 32:57 "For the husband is the head of the wife, 33:00 as Christ is the head of the church 33:03 and He is the Savior of the body." 33:05 So who is the head of the church? 33:07 Christ. 33:08 Okay, now, so far, put that down, 33:11 Ephesians 5:23, 33:12 "Christ is the head." 33:14 Now I want you to get this picture. 33:15 Christ is the foundation and He is the head. 33:20 All right? 33:22 We're not the head, we're somewhere in the middle 33:25 because where are we described in this text. 33:28 What word describes us? 33:30 The very last word, come on, say it. 33:31 Body. Body. 33:33 We're the body, but Christ is the head 33:35 and He's the foundation. 33:37 The church is built on Him 33:39 and all the thinking faculties of the church are in the head. 33:43 See, He is the Alpha and Omega, 33:47 the beginning and the end, 33:50 the first and the last. 33:52 That's what this describes. 33:54 Christ is the head of the church. 33:56 So, so far we've discovered 33:58 that Christ is not only the foundation, 34:00 He is the... 34:02 You know, when you go to build a house, 34:03 you clear the lot 34:05 and then you put down a concrete pad, 34:07 at least that's my limited understanding 34:10 depending on what you build. 34:12 If you build a building, you dig down deep, 34:14 get some goods, bedrock in there 34:17 and you put the rebar and all that stuff. 34:19 I'm not trying to get technical. 34:20 Whatever you build has to have a solid foundation. 34:23 And Christ is a solid foundation. 34:25 Amen for that? 34:26 But now look at Ephesians 4:15. 34:29 All right? 34:30 We're going to emphasize this one more time. 34:32 Ephesians 4:15, 34:35 just reemphasizing the second answer. 34:39 Ephesians 4:15, 34:41 speaking about the unity, 34:43 speaking about the church again. 34:48 And the Lord says, 34:51 "But, speaking the truth..." 34:53 Let me put this on. 34:55 "But, speaking the truth in love, 34:57 may grow up in all things 35:00 into Him who is the head," and what's His name? 35:04 "Christ." 35:06 He is the head. 35:07 So we emphasize that, Christ is the foundation, 35:10 He is the head. 35:11 He is the head of the church. 35:12 Now, which will bring us 35:14 to the next text to make some sense. 35:16 You see, if you read the next text by itself, 35:19 Matthew 16:18, 35:21 you can apply anything you want to it. 35:23 But if you lay the foundation 35:25 as the Bible gives us the opportunity to do. 35:27 then you come to Matthew 16:18, 35:30 then it's really clear. 35:31 Let's go to Matthew 16:18, 35:34 Matthew 16:18. 35:36 All right? 35:38 You might want to hold your... 35:40 You might want to hold your Bible there 35:42 because I'm going to make some other application, 35:44 all right? 35:45 Because I'm going to turn 35:46 to some other places in the Bible 35:48 because this is something 35:49 that needs to be clearly articulated, 35:51 clearly delineated 35:53 or very little delineation, I should say, 35:56 clearly articulated. 35:58 When you delineate, you kind of go away from it. 36:00 We want to make sure that it's clear. 36:02 All right, I'm going to go to another book, 36:04 I'm trying to find something else 36:05 as you're turning there. 36:07 All right. Okay. 36:08 Wonderful. 36:09 Matthew 16:18, 36:11 let's look at this together for the fourth part. 36:15 "And I also say to you 36:19 that you are Peter, 36:22 and on this rock 36:24 I will build My church, 36:28 and the gates of Hades or hell shall not prevail against it." 36:31 Now, when you understand the Greek here, 36:34 this is so vitally important 36:35 because there are probably 1.2, 1.3 billion people 36:40 that adhere to a particular church 36:42 that says Peter started that church, 36:47 Peter is the foundation on which that church has begin 36:50 or that church has been established. 36:52 Some say, 36:53 Peter is the first pope to just be candid. 36:55 And I could use that phrase or that word 36:57 'cause predominately all my family are Catholic. 37:01 And in respect to all that worship 37:03 in that particular denomination 37:04 what needs to be clear tonight 37:06 is that Christ 37:07 is the foundation of the church. 37:08 Christ is the rock. 37:10 The word Peter there comes from the Greek word Petros, 37:13 which means a tiny little rolling pebble. 37:16 If the church is built on Peter, 37:18 then what would have happened to the church 37:20 when Peter fell? 37:21 Tell me what happened. 37:23 What would happen? 37:24 The church would fall. 37:26 This was before Peter denied Christ, 37:28 he denied Him how many times? 37:29 Three. I make it easy. 37:30 Three times. 37:32 So Peter, this impetuous, 37:34 pious Peter and then if Peter died, 37:37 what happened to the church? 37:39 Oh, but the church is built on the one 37:42 whoever lives. 37:44 Amen to that? 37:45 Let's get some qualification here. 37:47 Because the word on this rock, 37:50 that's from the Greek word, Petra. 37:52 When you think of Petra, 37:54 it's in the Holy land, the Bible lands, 37:57 there's an entire mountain 37:58 out of which city is carved 38:01 and that's called Petra. 38:03 It's called The Rock City. 38:05 Well, Jesus is the rock of my foundation, 38:09 His banner over us is what? 38:10 Love. 38:11 You can say that without hearing the song 38:13 in your head, 38:14 Jesus is the rock of my salvation, 38:16 His banner over us is love. 38:17 Kids sing that song. 38:18 Now go with me to Deuteronomy Chapter 32. 38:21 So on Matthew 16:18, 38:24 put there on whom 38:25 does the Bible reveal the church is built? 38:27 On Jesus, the rock. 38:30 Okay, that's a really easy one. 38:32 Now, let's verify that because, 38:34 you know, the Bible does not allow us 38:37 to build an entire doctrine on one scripture. 38:41 Deuteronomy 32:4. 38:43 Look at Deuteronomy 32:4. 38:48 Okay. 38:55 Speaking of the words that God speaks, 38:59 Moses says, 39:02 and is even in capital letters, 39:04 He is the rock, 39:08 His work is what? 39:09 Perfect. 39:11 For all His ways are what? 39:13 Justice. 39:14 And a God of truth and without injustice, 39:18 righteous and upright is He? 39:21 Who is He? God. 39:23 The whole passage is about God. 39:25 He is the rock, He is just, 39:28 He is the God of truth. 39:30 And so from the very beginning, 39:32 He is mentioned in the beginning, 39:34 He is mentioned in the end, 39:36 God is there and He is the rock. 39:39 So whenever you make it click. 39:40 And by the way, 39:42 this is not just an Old Testament concept. 39:45 Let's go to 1 Corinthians. 39:46 Let's go to 1 Corinthians Chapter 10. 39:50 Let's go to 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 39:52 to see that this is a teaching 39:54 that existed from Old Testament times 39:57 to New Testament times 39:59 because some individuals may say, 40:00 "Well, that was the Old Testament." 40:02 But when Jesus came, 40:03 He changed it and made Peter the head. 40:06 All right. 40:08 Let the Bible speak. 40:09 I don't want to preach tonight, I want to teach. 40:12 Here it is. 40:13 1 Corinthians Chapter 10. 40:16 And we're going to read about the journey 40:18 of the children of Israel 40:20 as they sojourn in the wilderness. 40:22 Paul the Apostle is reminding the church in Corinth 40:24 of the very important journey of their forefathers. 40:27 He says, "Moreover, brethren," verse 1, 40:29 "I do not want you to be unaware 40:31 that all our fathers were under the cloud, 40:33 all passed through the sea, 40:36 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud 40:40 and in the sea. 40:41 All ate the same spiritual food." 40:43 Verse 4, 40:44 "And all drank the same spiritual drink, 40:47 for they drink of that spiritual rock 40:51 that followed them." 40:52 Let's read the last part together. 40:53 "And that rock was Christ." 40:56 Okay, this is after Jesus is already ascended to heaven. 41:01 Paul the Apostle is reiterating 41:03 the rock is Christ. 41:07 So He was the rock 41:08 when the children were in the wilderness. 41:11 He was the Rock of Ages as the songwriter says, 41:15 He is the Rock of ages and He is still the rock today. 41:18 Amen. 41:19 So on whom is the church built? 41:21 The foundation is Christ, the head is Christ, 41:25 and He is the rock. 41:27 Can we say amen to that? 41:29 Now, let's go to question number nine. 41:30 Hopefully, we're clear on that, 41:32 that the church is not built on man, 41:34 the church is built on Christ. 41:35 That gives me more assurance because you know what? 41:39 If the church was built on Martin Luther, 41:41 then Martin Luther died, 41:43 if the church was built on 41:44 Calvin, Zwingli, Hus, 41:46 Jerome, Wycliffe 41:47 or as some other people say Ellen White, 41:50 then the church is in trouble. 41:51 The church is built on Christ. 41:53 The church is not built on any man, 41:55 the church is not built on any woman. 41:57 The foundation and the head of the church 41:59 is Christ Jesus. 42:02 Question number nine. Question number nine. 42:07 What does the Bible teach 42:08 about the ultimate goal of the church? 42:11 The ultimate goal of the church. 42:14 Now some people may have a different answer to this 42:16 but since I'm teaching, this is my answer. 42:18 All right. 42:20 Let's go to Matthew 24:14 and I believe 42:22 that this is so significant when it comes to, 42:25 and the reason I put this as the goal, 42:26 Dan, is, why is God chosen us? 42:29 What does He want us for? 42:31 What does He want Yannick for? 42:33 What does He want Marlena for? 42:34 What does He want us for? 42:36 Let's go to Matthew 24:14 and see what He wants us to do. 42:40 All right? 42:41 He wants us to do something. 42:43 The Bible says in Matthew 24:14, 42:46 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be," what? 42:49 Preached. 42:50 "Preached in all the world as a witness unto," what? 42:55 "All nations," and what will happen? 42:58 "Then the end will come." 43:01 He wants us to do, what? 43:03 To proclaim this message throughout all the world. 43:06 Now, you don't have to be a preacher. 43:08 3ABN. 43:09 That's right. 43:11 My answer going right over here. 43:12 Yannick. 43:15 No, really, you don't have to be a preacher, 43:17 but you have, you can proclaim by your life. 43:21 You don't have to preach a single sermon, 43:22 you can give out a tract. 43:25 You can give a Bible study, you can give somebody a video. 43:28 You can be the vessel 43:29 through which Christ gets the message to the world. 43:32 And by the way, if you want to get some good Bible studies, 43:34 go to the website, we told you earlier, 43:36 I just plug it right here, 43:37 asf.3abn.org. 43:41 And there is a whole line of study guides, 43:44 27 to be right. 43:46 And there are about 88 videos thus far 43:48 that you can have a beautiful in home Bible study 43:51 by clicking on the first video and it will tell you 43:53 what lesson to follow along. 43:55 And every video that you click on 43:57 will tell you what lesson, 43:58 don't click the lesson first, click the video 44:01 and it will tell you in the very beginning 44:02 at the introduction, 44:04 what lesson to choose 44:05 to follow along with that video. 44:06 But you make it very clear, 44:08 the gospel is to be in all the world. 44:10 Now, now get this very carefully 44:12 because we laid some foundation earlier 44:14 that is vitally important. 44:16 Go back with me to Matthew, sorry to Revelation Chapter 14. 44:20 If the gospel is going to be preached 44:21 in all the world, 44:23 where does God's Church need to be? 44:26 Help me out, somebody, say it, brother? 44:28 In all the world. 44:29 If UPS is going to get packages to all the world, 44:34 where does UPS have to be? 44:36 In all the world. 44:37 FedEx has access to how much of the world? 44:40 Hopefully all the world. 44:41 I don't think they're delivering any packages 44:43 right now to Iraq 44:46 or to certain parts or portions of Afghanistan 44:49 or Syria. 44:51 But I want to tell you underground we're there. 44:56 God's got His people in there. 44:58 Don't want to tell any more about that. 45:01 But God has not left Himself without a witness. 45:03 Praise the Lord to that. 45:05 Revelation Chapter 14. 45:06 Let's look at this gospel, 45:08 how is it going to get to the whole world? 45:11 And we'll cover this in greater detail 45:12 in a few more questions. 45:14 But I just want to peek at it here. 45:15 Revelation 14:6. Revelation 14:6. 45:20 "Then I saw another angel 45:22 flying in the midst of heaven 45:25 having the," what? 45:27 "Everlasting gospel." 45:29 So if the church is preaching the gospel, 45:31 what gospel are they preaching? 45:33 The everlasting gospel. 45:34 Which meant, let's finish the text, 45:36 "The everlasting gospel to preach to those 45:39 who dwell on the earth, 45:41 to every nation, 45:43 tribe, tongue, and people." 45:46 And what are they saying? 45:48 "Saying with a loud voice, 45:49 fear God and give glory to Him, 45:52 for the hour of His judgment has come. 45:55 And worship Him who made heaven and the earth, 45:57 the sea and the springs of water." 45:59 Now, let me go ahead and emphasize something. 46:01 Loud does not only mean importance, 46:04 but if something is loud, 46:06 is it heard just in your house or other places? 46:10 Let me just give you some examples. 46:12 Some people call the police 46:13 because they say the neighbor's music is loud. 46:17 Or some people I remember being in Australia, 46:19 Brisbane, Cannes, 46:23 we were in Cannes, a few years ago, 46:24 my wife and I, the tropical part of Australia. 46:27 But we just so happened to get a room during the AYC. 46:32 On the side of the hotel, we had a beautiful balcony 46:35 but it just so happened that weekend 46:37 there was some gigantic music festival 46:39 going on in the park right downstairs 46:42 right across the street from our window. 46:44 And I tell you, they piped it up. 46:47 We were on like the 9th or 11th floors 46:49 way up there. 46:50 Maybe 15, we were way up there but they pipe that music up. 46:54 Well, for us to get to sleep we had to put our earplugs in 46:58 and play Christian music just to overwrite that 47:01 because the music was loud. 47:04 Here's my point. 47:05 The reason why the gospel is called loud 47:08 is not just because it needs to be heard far and wide 47:11 but people everywhere is hearing it. 47:14 You can go to the Philippines, you can go to China, 47:18 you can go to the West Indies, you can go to Asia, 47:21 you can go to Australia, you can go to the Caribbean, 47:23 you can go to Europe, 47:25 this message, the three angels' messages 47:27 is being preached in all the world. 47:28 Can you say amen tonight? 47:30 Why? 47:31 Because God's Church is on all of those continents. 47:33 It's in Canada, it's in Mexico, 47:35 it's in Central, South America. 47:37 It's in South Africa, Central Africa, 47:39 Northern Africa. 47:40 It's everywhere. 47:41 That's why the message is going forth with clarity 47:44 and to every nation, every kindred, 47:46 every tongue and every people. 47:48 Now let's go to the next one. 47:50 So the gospel that's been preached 47:52 in Revelation Chapter 14 is a part of the gospel 47:56 that's talked about in Matthew 24:14. 47:58 The gospel has to be proclaimed to the whole world 48:01 as the everlasting gospel, meaning it didn't just begin, 48:05 if it's everlasting and it's connected to the one 48:08 who is everlasting. 48:09 That's the gospel that the Old Testament 48:11 accepted by faith, the coming Messiah. 48:14 That's the gospel that we proclaim today, 48:16 the coming Messiah. 48:17 Jesus came the first time, He's coming back again. 48:21 Let's go to question number 10. 48:23 Here it is. 48:24 Number 10. 48:26 What is the main focus of the gospel? 48:29 What is the main focus of the gospel 48:30 given to the church? 48:32 Let's go to that. 48:33 1 Corinthians 2:2. 48:36 1 Corinthians 2:2, 48:39 what's the main focus of the gospel 48:41 given to the church? 48:42 Now as much as we like prophecy, 48:45 and I love prophecy. 48:46 As much as we like the messages in the Bible about good health 48:50 and we all want good health. 48:52 As much as we like all the doctrines there is a... 48:54 We have to keep in mind to keep the main thing, 48:58 the main thing. 48:59 All right? 49:01 What is the main focus of the gospel 49:03 given to the church? 49:04 1 Corinthians 2:2. 49:06 And here it is. 49:08 Let's read this one together. 49:09 We haven't done too much of that tonight. 49:10 It's on the screen. 49:12 And the Bible says, 49:13 "For I determined not to know anything among you 49:17 except Jesus Christ and," what? 49:20 "Him crucified." 49:22 When the church began, 49:25 the reason why this was so vitally important 49:28 because the church was just beginning to resonate 49:30 that the teaching of Jesus was just beginning 49:33 to get around the world. 49:34 It hadn't yet gotten to the world then. 49:37 It took 34 years to get to the entire world 49:40 according to the historian Josephus 49:42 and about 34 years the message of the risen Savior 49:46 got to all the world. 49:47 But up until this point, 49:49 the time frame hadn't passed yet. 49:51 So Paul is now an ambassador to the Christ 49:55 that he had an experience with and he lost his vision, 49:59 the Lord blinded him, 50:00 restored his sight and made him now an apostle. 50:03 And by the way, most of the New Testament, 50:05 many of the books of the New Testament 50:06 are written by the Apostle Paul. 50:08 So we say now to the Corinthian believers 50:10 which was an international city, 50:11 he's saying to them, they're saying, 50:12 what is the message? 50:14 Christ. 50:16 Christ and Him crucified? 50:18 That was the message 50:19 because Christ wasn't crucified too long ago 50:22 in context to today, 50:25 it wasn't too long ago. 50:26 So this message was still resonating. 50:28 And it was still to get to Rome and various parts of the, 50:31 of Asia Minor and then Asia Proper 50:34 and then parts of Europe, 50:35 it was still to get to the seven churches. 50:37 It hadn't gotten to all the churches yet. 50:40 It wasn't too far. 50:41 It wasn't too long 50:42 beyond the church of Ephesus 50:44 because if you look at the time frames, 50:47 if you look at the time frames, the church of Ephesus 50:49 is continuing to exist during this time, 50:52 it hadn't gotten too far because even up to the time 50:55 that John was on the Island of Patmos, 50:58 there was a persecution that was going to happen 51:00 in the year 303 AD to 313 AD. 51:04 And that was going to be put forth 51:05 by the Roman Empire. 51:07 And John was a prisoner of Rome. 51:09 But Paul now, he's proclaiming what was, 51:12 what was the main component of the gospel then. 51:15 And I want to say today, 51:16 the main component of the gospel today 51:18 is still Jesus. 51:19 What do you say? Amen. 51:21 You can preach about the Sabbath, 51:23 the state of the dead, the 2300 days, 51:25 the Beast of Revelation, 51:26 you can preach all that and not know Jesus. 51:29 But you can but you can't know Jesus. 51:33 And not want to preach that 51:36 because you can't separate the two. 51:38 So we're talking about the complete package here, 51:40 the Church of God will uplift Jesus 51:42 as the only means by which we are saved, 51:45 not by works. 51:46 Say that again, not by works. 51:48 The Sabbath is not a work issue. 51:51 The Sabbath is thou shall not do any works. 51:54 Can I get an amen? Amen. 51:56 So when people say you trying to be saved by work, 51:58 say read that commandment again. 52:01 It says, "Thou shall not do any works." 52:04 It's a rest command, not a work command. 52:08 It's a refreshment with the presence of the Lord 52:11 on the day that He set aside for communion with Him. 52:13 And by the way, let me say this, 52:15 too, because there's some thinking folk 52:16 and I'm here and you think. 52:18 There's some people say, I commune with Jesus every day. 52:20 Do we do the same? Yes. 52:22 Every single day, you must commune with Christ. 52:25 But like my wife and I, 52:27 every day is not our anniversary. 52:28 And every day is not your birthday. 52:30 And every day is not Christmas. 52:32 And every day is not a holiday. 52:34 If you say that, you keep the Sabbath every day, 52:36 then you've got a problem. 52:37 You need to get a job. 52:40 Because the Sabbath is thou shall not do any work. 52:43 I know all the excuses. 52:44 I've been around long enough to hear them all. 52:46 There's some people on the other side 52:47 arguing with me. 52:48 There he is that legalistic pastor. 52:50 That's okay. 52:51 I rather be legal than illegal. 52:53 All right? Okay. 52:55 'Cause we serve a legal God, what do you say? 52:57 Amen. 52:58 He's the God of law and order. 53:00 He's the God of mercy and justice. 53:01 He's the God of truth and righteousness. 53:03 He's not illegal and neither should the church be. 53:06 So it's not about legalism, it's about Christ. 53:09 When you love the Lord, the truth is not a problem. 53:13 When you have a relationship with Jesus, 53:14 the truth is not an adverse thing. 53:16 When you know Him as your Savior and Lord 53:19 and He's the one that has given you life 53:20 and given you the gift of eternal life. 53:22 Then to say, remember the Sabbath to keep it holy 53:24 is a small, it's a small dedication. 53:28 Yes, of course, I love you, Lord. 53:30 The Sabbath, no problem. 53:33 But if it's just about religion, 53:35 you could design it however you want. 53:37 It's just about being excited and being in church. 53:39 There are some places that are very highly energetic 53:42 and that's convenient for them. 53:43 There are some places that are as dead 53:45 as a funeral parlor. 53:46 And it's convenient for them. 53:48 There are two extremes. 53:50 So being loud doesn't mean you're wrong 53:52 and being completely quiet doesn't mean you're right. 53:56 Following the truth of God's Word, 53:58 is what he's saying in spirit and in truth. 54:00 What do you say? 54:01 Let's get one more before our time gets 54:03 away from us. 54:04 I think we can do one more. 54:05 So what is the main focus of the gospel? 54:07 Put down, Jesus Christ. 54:09 That's the main focus of the gospel, to know Him. 54:12 Let me go ahead and give you another text. 54:14 I think I had this here. 54:15 Yes, that's question number 11. 54:17 Here's number 11. 54:19 What method must the church use to lead people to Christ? 54:22 What method must the church use to lead people to Christ? 54:26 John 12:32. What? 54:30 How do we lead people to Christ? 54:32 What's the method that we must use 54:33 to lead people to Christ? 54:35 In interest of time, 54:36 I'm going to go and bring the text up. 54:38 John 12:32. 54:41 "And I, if I am," what? 54:44 "Lifted up from the earth, 54:46 will draw all people to Myself." 54:49 Where as the King James says all men unto myself. 54:51 Now this was a text prefiguring the crucifixion of Jesus. 54:56 If I'm lifted up, once that cross is stood up 55:00 and it's standing there, all men will see. 55:03 And by the way, at the foot of the cross, 55:04 the Roman centurion confessed that he is the Christ, 55:06 the first convert of the cross, 55:08 the Roman centurion, a Roman soldier, 55:11 the first convert of the cross, a Roman soldier, 55:15 the one who was there involved in His crucifixion. 55:18 Let me make this point. 55:19 This is so beautiful, when you think about that, 55:21 even the one involved in His crucifixion 55:23 still had a time to repent 55:24 and accept truly He is the Son of God. 55:29 If we lift up Jesus in all of our preaching, 55:31 you see, I'm talking about difficult topics here, 55:33 the Sabbath. 55:34 And we've covered a number of other topics 55:36 that are not very well accepted in the Christian world. 55:38 But as you do them and keep Christ at the center, 55:41 you cannot lose focus if Christ is the center. 55:44 I'll say to somebody, they get all upset about 55:46 what I'm saying. 55:47 Let me give an example. 55:49 With children, do you like to eat? 55:50 I love to eat. Okay. 55:52 Well, here's some spinach, but I don't like spinach. 55:55 But I like to eat, 55:56 then you got to explain to them 55:58 the benefits of spinach, like, 56:00 I wasn't always a spinach fan either. 56:03 But if you understand the benefits, 56:05 the health benefits, 56:07 but there's a greater benefit than the health benefit. 56:09 And that's the benefit of knowing Christ as your Lord 56:11 and your personal Savior. 56:12 What do you say? Amen. 56:14 So you got to lift up Jesus. 56:15 You have to lift Him up in all you do, 56:17 lift Him up in your life 56:18 and as well as in your practice. 56:20 Very quickly we'll lay the foundation 56:21 for question number 12 and we'll wind up on this. 56:24 We have enough time to go to question number 12. 56:27 What additional message must God's Church include 56:32 in preaching Christ? 56:33 What additional message must God's Church include 56:37 in preaching Christ? 56:38 Since we're in Revelation, 56:40 let's go ahead and wind up tonight 56:41 with these two particular passages, 56:43 it's very important. 56:44 Revelation 14:8 is the first one, 56:47 the Bible says, "And another angel followed, 56:51 saying, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen, 56:55 that great city, 56:56 because she made all nations drink 56:58 of the wine of the wrath of her," what? 57:00 "Of her fornication.'" 57:02 That's verse 8 of Revelation. 57:04 We must preach that Babylon, be careful with Babylon. 57:07 And this last one, verse 9. 57:10 And it says, "Then a third angel followed, 57:13 saying with a loud voice, 57:14 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, 57:16 and receives his mark on his forehead 57:18 or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine 57:21 of the wrath of God, 57:22 which is poured out full strength 57:23 into the cup of His indignation. 57:25 He shall be tormented with fire 57:27 and brimstone in the presence 57:29 of the holy angels 57:30 and in the presence of the Lamb.' 57:32 " So here's what we're going to cover starting next week. 57:35 What is the message about Babylon 57:37 that's warning us? 57:39 What is this mark of the beast that we must all avoid? 57:43 It's included in the three messages 57:46 of Revelation Chapter 14, the judgment hour, 57:49 Babylon is fallen, 57:51 don't worship the beast and his image. 57:52 Friends, you know, tonight we covered quite a bit 57:54 and we believe that if you study God's Word, 57:57 it will become clear. 57:58 But if you don't, keep studying 58:00 and one day it will come into A Sharper Focus. 58:03 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-06-28