Participants: John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000096
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00:19 Hello, friends, welcome to another Wednesday night
00:21 Bible study here at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:24 Thank you so much for taking the time 00:26 to tune in to join us in a walk through 00:30 the Word of God. 00:32 If you're joining us from outside 00:34 of the United States and it's not Wednesday night, 00:36 thank you so much for joining us. 00:37 Invite your family and friends 00:39 to sit down for the next less than an hour. 00:43 We wish we had more time 00:44 but less than an hour will be done 00:46 this lesson tonight 00:47 and we are talking about 00:49 "The Truth about the Judgment." 00:51 The Truth about the Judgment. 00:53 I'll let you know in just a moment 00:55 where you could get a copy of the lesson 00:56 but before we go any further, 00:58 let's begin with the word of prayer. 01:00 Our heavenly Father, we thank You tonight 01:02 for the opportunity to study Your Word. 01:05 Lord, we know that You are in our midst 01:07 and we pray that You'll strengthen us 01:09 that we open not only just our minds 01:11 but we open our hearts. 01:14 We pray for the work to be done not only on us but in us 01:19 that one day You can work through us. 01:22 We pray not only that we gain an intellectual understanding 01:24 but that we gain a desire spiritually 01:27 to dedicate our hearts and lives to You, 01:29 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 01:34 Now, if you like a copy of the lesson, 01:36 it is lesson number 28, 01:37 go to this following website, asf.3abn.org 01:43 and download the lesson, 01:45 The Truth about the Judgment. 01:47 The truth about the what? 01:49 About the judgment. 01:51 It's a topic that's not talked about very much, 01:53 but we are living in the time 01:54 where we believe Jesus is soon to come 01:57 but before He returns, there will be a judgment. 02:00 Tonight, we're gonna cover that lesson in detail 02:03 but before we do any of that, 02:04 we're gonna sing our theme song. 02:06 What's the name of our theme song, victory in? 02:08 Jesus. 02:09 Victory in Jesus, let's sing this song together. 02:20 I heard an old, old story 02:23 How the Savior came from glory 02:27 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:31 To save a wretch like me 02:35 I heard about His groaning 02:39 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:42 Then I repented of my sin 02:46 And won the victory 02:50 O victory in Jesus 02:54 My Savior forever 02:57 He sought me and bought me 03:01 With His redeeming blood 03:05 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:09 And all my love is due Him 03:13 He plunged me to victory 03:16 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:20 I heard about a mansion 03:24 He has built for me in glory 03:28 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:31 Beyond the crystal sea 03:35 About the angels singing 03:39 And the old redemption story 03:43 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:47 The song of victory 03:49 Key change. 03:51 O victory in Jesus 03:54 My Savior forever 03:58 He sought me and bought me 04:02 With His redeeming blood 04:06 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:09 And all my love is due Him 04:13 He plunged me to victory 04:17 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:21 He plunged me to victory 04:24 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:31 Amen? 04:32 He plunged us to victory beneath the cleansing flood 04:36 and that flood is His blood 04:38 that not only washes away our sins, 04:41 but sets us in a right condition 04:44 before our Lord. 04:46 Once again, if you like a copy of the lesson, 04:48 go to the website asf.3abn.org. 04:52 If you're just joining us and download lesson number 28, 04:56 The Truth about the Judgment. 04:59 Now let me begin to lay some foundation 05:01 about the topic of the judgment. 05:04 I'll begin with the story. 05:06 When I was in high school in Brooklyn, New York, 05:09 I went to a high school 05:10 called James Madison High School. 05:14 I was there all four years 05:16 but there was a particular young man 05:18 that was in that school, 05:19 my wife has heard this story before, 05:21 and I won't mention his name on the air 05:23 because he might be watching 05:25 in the event that he is but, 05:27 he had been in high school for, 05:30 you're only supposed to be there four years 05:32 but he was in high school at this time, five years 05:36 and he was on the football team. 05:38 Well, the standard to get out of high school, 05:40 at least in my school, 05:41 you had to pass world history. 05:44 If you did not pass world history 05:46 and didn't pass it during the summer, 05:48 then you're going to repeat that again the next year. 05:51 Well, I'll use his first name because that's not telling, 05:56 his name was Kelly. 05:58 He was on the football team. 05:59 I won't tell you the year so we won't be too specific. 06:02 But I remember 06:05 the sixth year that he was in, 06:09 he was in the 12th grade three years. 06:11 He was in the 12th grade, the fourth year, 06:13 the fifth year, and the sixth year, 06:15 and the coach told him, 06:18 he said, "Kelly, if you're in this school one more year 06:21 we're going to make you the janitor." 06:25 Now follow this, in order to get out of the 12th grade, 06:28 you had to pass, what subjects did I say? 06:30 World history. 06:32 Well, you don't get your passing grade 06:35 until the final test. 06:37 Remember that, 06:38 that's very important to the subject. 06:40 When the test is over and you pass, 06:43 then you can go on 06:44 or if you don't pass then you have to repeat. 06:47 Well, the grades were posted on the homeroom 06:50 of each of the people, 06:52 wherever your homeroom was located. 06:54 Mine was on the fourth floor. 06:55 Kelly's was on the fourth floor, 06:57 and they posted the grades right outside of the classroom 06:59 on the wall. 07:01 Well, needless to say, 07:02 as people are walking up to the classroom, 07:05 you can hear screams and shouts and claps and yeah, 07:10 all through the school. 07:11 And you can hear words of lament, No. 07:14 You can hear both sounds all through the school. 07:17 Well, my great interest was, 07:19 I wonder what's gonna happen to Kelly, 07:20 because he was in my class. 07:22 No, he wasn't. 07:23 He was in the class next to me. 07:25 So anyhow, here we are, I am going to my class. 07:27 And I know I'm going to pass 07:30 because I was one of the smart students in school. 07:32 No amens required. 07:33 But I looked to my right, 07:37 and I see Kelly's expression 07:40 before any sound that came out of his mouth, 07:42 his face told the story. 07:44 He finally passed 07:46 after being in the 12th grade for three years. 07:50 And in this great football grown in the noise 07:52 that a football player can make, 07:54 he went ballistic up and down the hallway, 07:56 slapping fives and yelling 07:58 and he finally made it out of the 12th grade. 08:02 What's the point of the story? 08:04 You never get the passing grade 08:05 until the final decision is made. 08:08 It, in fact, for many in high school, 08:12 specifically for Kelly, it was Judgment Day. 08:15 What day was it? 08:16 Judgment Day. 08:19 Whether we went on or whether we were left behind 08:23 was determined by the outcome 08:25 of our final grades. 08:27 Now, you never get your final grade 08:29 before you get the final test. 08:31 The final test is called an examination. 08:33 What word is that? 08:34 An examination. 08:36 Another phrase you can use is you are judged 08:39 based on the work you do all year long. 08:44 And based on the work that you do all year long, 08:46 then the determining factor is whether or not 08:49 you have to repeat that grade 08:51 or whether or not you're going to go on. 08:53 He was excited. We were all excited for him. 08:55 Matter of fact, it really didn't matter 08:56 who else passed on the fourth floor, 08:58 Kelly was the highlight because he finally made it. 09:01 You know, there's a day coming, 09:03 that we're going to stand before our Judgment Day, 09:06 our final exam. 09:09 And on that day, 09:11 people are going to be either elated 09:14 and excited and happy, 09:16 or there is going to be, as the Bible says, 09:18 wailing, weeping and gnashing of? 09:21 Gnashing of teeth. 09:22 It's going to be a horrible day. 09:24 But in context of that day that is on its way, 09:28 there is an examination that leads up to that day. 09:31 Go with me to Revelation, I want you to see this, 09:34 Revelation Chapter 22. 09:37 Revelation Chapter 22, 09:38 we gonna lay some foundation before we go to the questions. 09:41 Revelation Chapter 22. 09:44 You know, so when people say, 09:45 "Well, Jesus can come any day now." 09:49 Not saying that He can't 09:50 because I cannot determine that. 09:52 But He's not going to return 09:54 until the judgment is concluded, 09:57 until everyone has been examined. 10:00 And then the final declaration 10:01 is gonna be Revelation Chapter 22. 10:04 Notice verse 11. 10:06 This is the final declaration. 10:09 And if depending on the translation 10:11 you could follow along, the Bible declares, 10:14 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust," what? 10:18 "Still, he who was filthy, let him be filthy still, 10:22 he who is righteous, let him be righteous still, 10:26 he who is holy, let him be holy," what? 10:27 "Still." 10:29 And verse 12, 10:30 "And behold I am coming quickly, 10:33 and my reward is with Me to give to," how many of us? 10:38 "Everyone according to his," what? 10:41 "Work." Now let me make a point. 10:44 We cannot save ourselves by our works. 10:48 But so what's the purpose of the work 10:51 determining what the reward is going to be? 10:53 Let's just put this in the proper context. 10:56 Now, I don't want to date this program too much 10:58 because I know maybe in the future 11:00 it might be repeated. 11:01 But there's a time of the year where I know growing up 11:05 before I found out 11:06 that there was no such thing as Santa Claus, 11:09 you know, we used to hear that phrase 11:11 he sees you when you are sleeping. 11:13 He knows when you are awake. 11:15 He knows if you've been bad or good? 11:17 Before I knew that it had nothing to do with Santa Claus, 11:20 I was trying to be good. 11:23 When I was asked, are you sleeping? 11:26 My response was yes. 11:29 When we knew that Christmas was approaching, 11:30 we tried to do everything good, 11:32 so that when it comes, we'll get what? 11:35 Gifts, right? 11:37 In other words, 11:38 the reward was there for those who were good 11:40 and did their work 11:42 and did everything that mom and dad wanted them to do. 11:45 In other words, the reward finally showed up. 11:48 Well, I know I found out one day 11:50 that there is no such thing as Santa Claus. 11:51 And then I came to the appreciation 11:53 of all the gifts that I received 11:55 were because of my parents and their love for me. 11:59 And so the Bible points out in Revelation 22, 12:01 that there's a day coming. 12:02 But now let me go ahead 12:03 and give you the context of this. 12:05 Go with me to Daniel Chapter 7. 12:07 We're speaking about the judgment. 12:08 Daniel Chapter 7, I want to lay the foundation there, 12:13 because it is important to know the timing of the judgment. 12:17 You see, the judgment began at a certain time 12:20 and the Bible in prophecy points out four great empires. 12:25 How many did I say? 12:27 Four. 12:28 Babylon, if you know, Medo-Persia, 12:31 Greece and finally, what else? 12:33 Rome, and we are living in the day 12:36 where the fourth kingdom, the fourth great kingdom, 12:39 the Bible predicted, is in existence. 12:42 How fitting it is 12:43 that when Daniel gives the picture, 12:47 he gives the picture of the judgment 12:48 under the existence of the fourth beast. 12:51 Notice Daniel Chapter 7. 12:52 All right? 12:55 Daniel Chapter 7, 12:56 I'll just go ahead and read verse 7, 12:57 so we get the context. 12:59 All right? 13:00 Daniel 7:7, 13:02 "After this I saw in the night vision," 13:06 Daniel has a vision, "and behold a fourth beast, 13:11 dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. 13:15 It had huge iron teeth. 13:19 It was devouring, breaking in pieces 13:23 and trampling the residue with its feet. 13:26 It was different from all the beasts 13:28 that were before it. 13:29 And it had," how many horns? 13:30 "Ten horns." 13:32 Now we do know, looking back at that that, 13:34 that was the divided Kingdom of Rome, 13:36 the 10 nations that existed 13:39 under the early reign of the Roman Empire, 13:41 but let's go on further. 13:43 And I'm just going to skip over verse 8, 13:44 I'm going down to verse 9. 13:47 All right? 13:49 "I watched till thrones were put in place, 13:54 and the Ancient of Days was seated. 13:58 His garment was white as snow, 14:01 and the hair of His head was like pure wool. 14:05 His throne was a fiery flame, 14:08 its wheels a burning fire." 14:12 Verse 10, 14:13 "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. 14:18 A thousand, thousand ministered to Him, 14:21 that's millions, ten thousand times 14:23 ten thousand stood before Him. 14:26 The court was seated," and repeat the rest with me, 14:28 "and the books were open." 14:32 So when the court is seated, what's in session? 14:37 Judgment. 14:38 A judgment, a case has started. 14:42 The court, you have the jury, thrones are set in place. 14:47 You have those who are going to be residing in the judgment. 14:49 They're there to witness the judgment, 14:51 the Ancient of Days presiding in the judgment, 14:54 the court was seated. 14:55 And when you say the court was seated, 14:58 what do they often say when the judge is coming in. 15:01 All rise. 15:03 See, but now as he's in, the court is what? 15:05 Seated, the same thing that happens today. 15:09 The judicial system in America has been very much patterned 15:12 after the biblical system of judgment. 15:15 When the judge is coming in, you don't sit down 15:17 when the judge is coming and that's disrespectful. 15:21 The judge is seated and the books are open. 15:25 Now turn the page, I want to... 15:27 Before I tell you about the judgment, 15:29 I want to give you some encouragement. 15:30 All right? 15:32 Because it's fearful to go to court. 15:34 Anybody here ever went to court before? 15:35 Can I get a hand on anybody? 15:38 Okay. 15:40 If you just saw that big hand eclipse the screen, 15:42 that's David Butler. 15:45 He might have been in the court before, 15:47 don't know what for 15:48 but we've all at maybe one point or another 15:52 been to the court for something, 15:53 could have been a speeding ticket, 15:54 could have been any kind of infraction, 15:56 could have been any number of things. 15:57 We're not going to go over that tonight. 15:58 But I want to give you some encouragement 16:00 because, you know, if you don't know the outcome, 16:04 then you can be very fearful. 16:07 But if you know the outcome, 16:10 as you're on your way to court or standing in the judgment, 16:14 then you can be in the living 16:16 during the time of judgment with great confidence. 16:19 Isn't that right? 16:20 Let's look at this, verse 21, 16:23 and this is all under the work of the fourth beast of Daniel, 16:28 which is the empire of Rome. 16:30 Verse 21, 16:32 "I was watching and the same horn 16:36 was making war against the saints, 16:39 and prevailing against them." 16:41 In other words, looked like he had it all together, 16:44 looked like there was no way of stopping him. 16:46 The fourth beast, the kingdom of Rome, 16:48 and today Rome is prevalent all over the earth, 16:50 in the political as well as in the religious 16:53 arenas of the earth. 16:55 And I like the word in verse 22, 16:57 what's the first word? 16:58 "Until the Ancient of Days came." 17:02 Now, if you connect that, 17:04 you just have to go back and see clearly 17:07 that when the Ancient of Days came, verse 9, 17:09 when He came, the court was seated. 17:12 Until the Ancient of Days came and what does it say? 17:15 "And a judgment was made in favor of the saints 17:20 of the Most High." 17:22 Come on, say that with me, the saints of the Most High. 17:24 Let's respond this way you could stay alert. 17:27 "The judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, 17:31 and the time came for the saints to," do what? 17:34 "Possess the kingdom." 17:35 Can we get an amen to that? 17:36 Amen. So here's the key. 17:38 What do you want to be in light of the judgment? 17:41 Say it. 17:42 Saint. A saint. 17:44 Now, we're not talking about St. Peter. 17:46 We're not talking about being made into a saint 17:49 or being elevated to the status of saint. 17:51 The word in the Bible saint simply means 17:53 one that is called out, one that is justified, 17:56 and sanctified by the righteousness of Jesus, 17:59 one whose life is covered by the merits of Christ. 18:03 That's what a saint is. 18:04 We're not talking about, well, 18:05 hey, I finally arrived at sainthood. 18:07 No, no, that's not what the point of the matter is. 18:10 Those who have been redeemed and sanctified 18:12 and justified by the blood of the Lamb, 18:15 when the judgment is over, 18:16 when the verdict is handed down, 18:19 if you are a saint, 18:20 the judgment will be made in your favor. 18:23 Amen? Amen. 18:24 Now, we're going to see why as we go to question number one. 18:26 Let's go to question number one, 18:27 'cause you have to know why. 18:28 And by the way, as we go to question number one, 18:30 let me go ahead and lay the foundation here 18:32 because it almost sounds like at this particular point 18:36 that you were saved, listen carefully, 18:40 It almost sounds like the foundation I laid 18:43 made it appears though, 18:44 Marlene will be saved 18:46 based on your works being examined. 18:48 In other words, if you have more good works than bad works, 18:51 it almost sounded like you'll be saved 18:54 if you have more good works than bad works, 18:57 isn't how it sound? 18:58 Because it says, everyone shall receive a reward 19:00 based on his works. 19:02 Doesn't it sound that way? 19:04 So if you say that when the judgment is done, 19:07 that the judgment is going to be made in favor of those 19:10 who give their lives to Christ, 19:11 and you put the whole context of the verses I read so far, 19:14 when you put that together, it almost sounds like, 19:17 "Oh, I'm so glad I have more good works 19:20 than bad works." 19:22 But I want to break that. 19:24 I want you to know, I want you to know tonight, 19:27 that when the Bible says, 19:28 for by grace are you saved through faith 19:30 and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God not of? 19:36 Talk to me tonight? 19:37 Not of works, lest anyone should boast. 19:43 So salvation, this is a strange thing, 19:45 how can you not be saved by your works, 19:48 but condemned by your works? 19:51 We're gonna grab over that in just a moment. Okay. 19:53 How can your works not save you but your works can condemn you? 19:57 We'll answer that question in just a moment. 19:59 But let's go ahead and set the foundation. 20:01 Question number one, here it is. 20:04 What does the first angel's message of Revelation 20:07 bring into view? 20:09 Revelation Chapter 14 20:11 and we are going to look at verse 7. 20:14 Revelation Chapter 14 20:16 and we're going to look at verse 7. 20:17 Let's turn there. 20:19 Maybe you have your Bibles, 20:20 but if not, it's going to appear on the screen. 20:22 All right? 20:24 Revelation 14:7, here's the answer. 20:28 "Saying with a loud voice..." 20:31 Let's read this together, it's on the screen, 20:33 are you ready? 20:34 "Fear God and give glory to Him, 20:38 for the hour of His judgment has come, 20:43 and worship Him who made heaven and earth, 20:46 the sea and the," what? 20:47 "Springs of water." 20:49 Now, this is going to be, you got to catch this. 20:54 Who has been on trial 20:58 for the existence of the sin problem on earth? 21:02 Who has been on trial? God. 21:03 God has been on trial. 21:05 This is really important because a person that lives, 21:09 let's go back to the days of the antediluvian. 21:12 If they lived 800 years, 21:14 well that's a short span of time, 21:16 they die and somebody else is born 21:17 and keep going and today, 21:19 there are people that live to 70. 21:20 If you make 100 years today, that's huge. 21:22 That's centenarian, that's just big, 21:25 but you pass, you pass on 21:27 and somebody else is born and they pass on. 21:30 And from age to age, whatever that person does, 21:33 the Bible says, 21:35 it is appointed unto men once to die and after that, 21:39 the judgment. 21:41 That means, your record has been sealed. 21:43 Everything you've done 21:45 for that 30, 40, 50, 80, 90, 100 years 21:47 is contained in a record. 21:50 Now, you could be filled with fear David, 21:53 since you're red-handed clips the screen, 21:55 I'll refer you, you can be filled with fear 21:58 if your records were opened. 22:02 And they said, "Oh, no. 22:05 For most of this young man's life, 22:08 he did not know Jesus. 22:11 So we don't have to look at the rest of his life." 22:14 Because let's say he's 40, oh for 34 years he didn't know, 22:18 forget it, he's not gonna make it. 22:20 Wouldn't that be fearful? 22:22 You'd almost want to wish 22:23 that you were baptized as a baby, 22:26 and sanctified from that point on, 22:27 if in fact you were on trial, 22:30 but what does the scripture say? 22:32 The hour of His judgment, the hour of His judgment. 22:38 In other words, 22:41 if our judge is vindicated, 22:45 I wanna put this together correctly. 22:47 If our lawyer is vindicated, 22:53 if the one who covers us with his character 22:56 is vindicated, and he's declared righteous, 22:59 then what are we declared? 23:01 Okay, but if he's declared unrighteous, 23:04 and he covers us with himself, what are we declared? 23:07 Unrighteous. 23:08 So write the answer down. 23:09 Let's put this down very quickly. 23:11 What does the first angel's message of Revelation 23:12 bring it to view? 23:14 The hour of His judgment or the judgment hour. 23:17 Now, what's amazing about this is this is the winding down 23:21 of His judgment, 23:23 and also the reviewing of our records 23:26 in the hour of judgment. 23:30 Very important. 23:32 Matter of fact, go with me to... 23:33 I want you to get a glimpse into Paul the Apostle's life. 23:36 Go with me to 2 Timothy Chapter 4. 23:39 2 Timothy Chapter 4, this is so beautiful to see. 23:45 Okay. 23:49 When I was being raised, 23:50 I used to think that God the Father is the judge, 23:55 Jesus is the lawyer and He's going to fight my case 23:59 against the Father. 24:01 You ever think that? 24:03 I thought that until I studied and understood, wait a minute. 24:07 Let's go ahead and look at what the Apostle Paul talks about. 24:10 I thought that Jesus was saying, 24:12 "Dad, please, please let John be saved," 24:17 until I discovered they're on the same team. 24:19 Amen? 24:21 There are no opposing sides here. 24:22 There's not this tyrannical father 24:24 that's looking down with a divine telescope. 24:27 Look, uh, got him, See, that's the reason why. 24:29 No, the one who is accusing us is who? 24:33 Satan, the accuser of our brethren. 24:35 See, anytime you stand in court, 24:37 you got a prosecuting, you got a defense team. 24:41 You'll see about our defense team in just a moment. 24:43 It's a beautiful topic. 24:44 A lot of people get fearful, 24:46 but let me let you see what Paul the Apostle 24:48 has concluded about who this judge is. 24:50 All right? 24:52 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4. 24:54 Sorry, 2 Timothy Chapter 4. 24:57 Thank you, honey. 24:59 2 Timothy 4:7-8. 25:01 And by the way, this outlines our lives. 25:04 This outlines our lives well. 25:06 Okay. 25:07 2 Timothy 4:7-8. 25:10 This is in addition to the first question. 25:11 You gonna just put that in there as you get there. 25:14 Now notice what Paul says about the kind of life 25:16 that every one of us lives, 25:18 and I'm sure that you experience this 25:20 on a daily and weekly basis. 25:23 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, 25:28 I have kept the faith." 25:30 So every day what do we have to do? 25:32 Fight the fight of faith. 25:34 How often do you fight the fight of faith? 25:36 Every day. 25:37 How often do you run the race? 25:39 Every day. 25:41 You run that race with patience, you keep going. 25:43 If you see the finish line, 25:46 the Bible says the race is not given to the swift, 25:48 you don't have to be fast, 25:49 you just have to keep going. 25:51 That's what Paul, the very same writer said 25:53 he kept his eyes, 25:54 he pressed toward the prize, toward the mark 25:57 for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 26:00 There is a prize, 26:02 he's going to talk about the prize now. 26:03 Look at this, 26:04 "Finally there is laid up for me the," 26:07 what of righteousness? 26:09 "Crown of righteousness," 26:10 and notice how he describes the Lord, 26:13 "which the Lord the righteous judge." 26:17 Can I get an amen to that? 26:19 He's a righteous judge. 26:21 "Will give to me on that day and not to me only, 26:26 but also to all who have," what? 26:29 "Loved His appearing." 26:31 So what kind of judge do we have? 26:33 Okay. 26:35 Huh? 26:36 A righteous judge. 26:37 But Satan is still accusing him of not being righteous. 26:41 So, when you read Revelation 17 26:45 and there's some other verses there, 26:47 I'll include in just a moment here. 26:48 When you look at Revelation 17, and the judgment is done, 26:52 the saints declare, 26:53 your judgments are true and faithful. 26:57 But Satan is saying that God is not just. 27:00 Satan is saying God is not fair. 27:02 Matter of fact, go with me to the Book of Ezekiel. 27:04 I want to insert some things here 27:07 and somehow this opinion 27:10 is not just shared by the enemy. 27:13 Sadly enough and what I'm about to show you now, 27:17 sadly enough, there was a time, 27:20 and I'm going to the Book of Ezekiel, right? 27:23 There was a time when 27:27 the people of God had... 27:32 I'll tell you. 27:39 What chapter did I say? 27:41 Okay, Ezekiel Chapter 33. 27:45 Here we are. 27:50 Okay. 27:54 Oh, I tell you. 28:01 I'm going to try to... 28:02 Okay. 28:04 Let's start with verse 12. 28:06 Well, let's start with verse 11. 28:08 Okay. 28:09 The Lord is calling Ezekiel to blow the trumpet, 28:12 and he's blowing the trumpet for the people of God to hear. 28:15 Usually if a trumpet is blown, 28:18 for what purposes did they blow a trumpet? 28:20 To warn him, get somebody's attention. 28:22 And the Bible says in Isaiah, to lift up, Isaiah 58:1, 28:26 "Lift up your voice like a trumpet, 28:28 show my people their transgressions, 28:30 and the house of Jacob their sin." 28:31 So when the trumpet is being blown, 28:33 in the spiritual sense, 28:34 God is saying, look, pay attention. 28:37 Now, notice this, verse 11, 28:40 "Say to them, as I live, says the Lord God, 28:45 I have," what? 28:47 "No pleasure in the death of the wicked, 28:49 but that the wicked turn from his way and live. 28:54 Turn from your evil ways for why should you die 28:58 O house of Israel." 29:00 So pause for a moment. 29:02 What is God's desire that we do what? 29:04 That we turn to live. 29:06 So this idea that the Lord wants to burn people 29:08 forever and ever is not in harmony 29:10 with His character. 29:12 But now let's look at the argument here 29:13 because there's an argument that's going to come up. 29:16 God is telling His people who He is 29:18 and they're saying, wait a minute, 29:19 that's, that's not who I think you are. 29:21 Let's look at this. 29:23 "Therefore, O son of man," verse 12, 29:25 "say to the children of your people, 29:27 the righteousness," this is powerful, 29:30 "the righteousness of the righteous man 29:32 shall not deliver him 29:35 in the day of his transgression, 29:38 as for the wickedness of the wicked, 29:40 he shall not fall because of it 29:42 in the day that he turns from his wickedness, 29:45 nor shall the righteous be able to live 29:48 because of his righteousness in the day that he sins." 29:51 Now let's pause for a brief moment. 29:53 Is this saying one day you're in the river, 29:55 the next day you're on the bank? 29:57 Is that what this is saying? 29:58 No, the word there, a better way 30:00 to describe the word there in the Hebrew is iniquity. 30:04 In other words, when a person decide 30:06 because remember, the Lord said, 30:07 turn from your evil. 30:09 So now, if the righteous turns 30:12 from his righteousness and starts going 30:14 in the opposite direction, 30:16 is he going toward the Lord or away from the Lord? 30:19 If the righteous turns 30:21 from going towards Jesus, 30:24 he's going away from the Lord. 30:26 So if you're moving now in the journey of salvation, 30:30 and you turn, is it a good thing? 30:32 No. 30:33 But if the wicked turns, is that a good thing? 30:35 Yes. 30:36 He said to the wicked, "Turn, make a turn." 30:38 "You ever saw that sign, 30:40 if you're going in the wrong direction, 30:41 God allows what? 30:43 U-turns, make a turn. 30:44 See, that's what reformation 30:48 and redemption is all about. 30:52 You know, we talk about... 30:54 I'm trying to put the evangelistic term together. 30:57 We always talked about, anyway, it'll come to me in a moment. 31:01 But God is saying to the righteous, 31:03 don't turn, 31:05 just keep going straight. 31:06 But He's saying to the wicked, turn and join the righteous. 31:09 But now look at verse 13, 31:11 "When I say to the righteous 31:13 that he shall surely live, 31:15 but if he trusts in his own righteousness 31:19 and commits," what? 31:20 In other words, 31:22 he gets this sin that he loves so much, 31:24 that he's not gonna let it go. 31:26 I'm not gonna, no matter what, I'm not gonna let it go. 31:28 And he begins to trust in his own righteousness. 31:31 I'm good enough. 31:33 I'm happy where I am. 31:35 Look what the Bible says, 31:36 "None of his righteous works shall be remembered, 31:40 but because of the iniquity that he has committed," what? 31:44 "He shall die. 31:46 And when I say to the wicked, 31:48 you shall surely die, 31:49 if he turns from his sin, 31:52 and does what is lawful and right, 31:54 if the wicked restores the pledge, 31:57 gives back what he has stolen 31:59 and walks in the statutes of life 32:01 without committing iniquity," 32:03 there's the word again. 32:05 "he shall surely live, 32:07 he shall not die." 32:09 Now, let me pause right here and ask you a question. 32:11 I want some feedback. 32:14 Is the devil concerned about 32:17 our periodical stumblings? 32:20 What does he want? 32:22 What does he want to lead us to? 32:25 What's the word that came up more than once? 32:28 What kind of life does he want us to live? 32:29 A life of...? 32:32 Say it again, iniquity, 32:33 you know what iniquity means? 32:35 Iniquity means cherished. 32:37 Okay, my pets. 32:38 Oh, no, no, 32:39 like if somebody is trying to take something from me, 32:41 no, no, not that one. 32:42 See the Lord, 32:44 He wants to clean us completely. 32:45 He wants to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 32:49 But there are those that want to hold on to that thing 32:50 that they love the most, is called a cherished sin. 32:53 It's called iniquity. 32:54 In other words, I can't cure you, 32:57 because you don't want to stop what you're doing. 32:59 He says like going to the doctor for an ailment. 33:01 But while you're getting the surgery, 33:03 you're still involved in the ailment. 33:05 Wait a minute, I'm trying to help you 33:06 and while you're on the surgical table, 33:08 you're still doing the very thing 33:10 that got you in this position. 33:12 But let's go on and look what happens. 33:16 And then, verse 16, speaking of the wicked one, 33:20 "None of his sins which he had committed 33:22 shall be remembered against him, 33:24 he has done what is lawful and right, 33:26 he shall surely live." 33:28 Ain't that wonderful? 33:30 So if the wicked man and I wanna give encouragement 33:31 to those who may be living a life 33:33 where they're stumbling, they don't know the Lord. 33:34 They may think they've gone too far 33:36 that God cannot save them. 33:38 The good news of the judgment is, 33:40 if you give your life to the Lord and turn, 33:43 all the wickedness you have done 33:46 will not be remembered in the judgment. 33:47 Ain't that an amen? Amen. 33:49 That's good news. 33:50 There is no such thing as I've gone too far. 33:52 Somebody asked me 33:54 at these meetings that we were having here, 33:56 that's still going on in Albuquerque, 33:59 this evangelistic series, 34:01 they said, you know, I'm wondering 34:02 if I committed the unpardonable sin. 34:06 I said for the fact that you're asking me 34:07 you haven't. 34:09 I want to know if there's hope for me, 34:12 for the fact that you're asking there is hope. 34:15 You see, the unpardonable sin is when there is no conviction. 34:17 When you have no, you have no care 34:20 about the condition of your life, 34:22 then you've crossed the border. 34:24 But now I want to bring the argument in here. 34:26 Verse 17, 34:28 this is how some people view God, 34:30 this is why I'm reading this. 34:31 I want to get the idea out of your mind 34:33 that God is this bad guy. 34:35 He's giving you every chance to be saved. 34:36 Look at verse 17, 34:38 "Yet the children of your people say," 34:41 what did they say? 34:42 "The way of the Lord is" what? 34:45 "Not fair." 34:47 But it is their way which is not fair. 34:51 So who's fair, 34:52 God or us? 34:56 So God has made every provision for us 34:59 to be excused and forgiven 35:02 in light of the judgment. 35:03 Let's go to question number two. 35:05 Let's go to question number two. 35:06 This is very important, all right? 35:09 There is no such thing as going too far, 35:13 except you persistently refuse 35:15 to respond to the voice of the Spirit of God, 35:17 and you never respond. 35:19 And none of us could come to that place where we decide, 35:22 well, you've crossed the line, there's no hope for you. 35:24 That's something that only God can decide. 35:27 All right. Let's look at question number two. 35:30 How many people 35:33 does the Bible reveal will be judged? 35:36 How many people does the Bible reveal 35:39 will be judged? 35:41 2 Corinthians 5:10. 35:44 2 Corinthians 5:10, all right? 35:50 Okay, here we are. 35:51 Here we are. 35:53 Let's read this, it says, 35:55 "For we must," how many of us must appear? 35:58 "All appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 36:02 that each one may receive the things done in the body, 36:06 according to what he has done, 36:08 whether," what side? 36:10 "Good or whether," what? "Bad." 36:12 Weather good or evil, everybody has to appear. 36:15 Now, have any of you ever been on a jury 36:18 and call for jury duty? 36:21 Huh? 36:22 I've been on to two jury trials. 36:26 You don't want to go on jury duty 36:27 because they give you like $5 a day, 36:28 at least that's how it was in New York City. 36:30 You don't get your actual salary, 36:32 you get $5 a day. 36:33 And it's terrible if it's a very bad trial 36:36 where you have to be sequestered. 36:37 That means you're locked up in your room, 36:38 you can't watch the news. 36:40 You can't watch, listen to the radio, 36:42 you can't, no communication devices, 36:44 didn't have cell phones when I was growing up, 36:46 so that was not a big issue. 36:48 But for those who were called to jury duty, 36:50 the thing that frightened me about that summons is, 36:54 if you don't respond, 36:55 I don't know if you've ever read it 36:57 if you don't respond in a timely manner, 36:59 there could be... 37:03 What's the thing when somebody they try to? 37:07 A warrant. 37:08 Yeah, they could put a warrant out for your arrest 37:12 if you don't respond to be a juror. 37:15 I'm thinking, that's not fair. 37:18 You have to have a legitimate excuse 37:20 and the court has to decide whether you're excused, 37:24 which means everyone must appear, 37:26 either be there to be a part of the jury, 37:29 or you respond by letter. 37:31 How many of us must respond? 37:34 Everybody, all must appear before the judgment seat. 37:38 If you don't respond by that particular date 37:41 and I remember, 37:42 I remember as a pastor, 37:44 when I was in California, 37:46 I knew that I had a preplanned event. 37:49 My tickets were already purchased 37:50 to be out of town. 37:51 And I went to the court 37:54 and they said, "Okay, what are you here for today?" 37:56 I said, "I need to respond 37:58 to this jury invitation to be juror." 38:00 They said, "And what's the reason 38:02 why you cannot attend?" 38:03 I said, "I'm the local clergy, already purchased tickets 38:06 for this particular event is happening during the time." 38:09 And they said, "Okay, 38:11 you're allowed to get three excuses. 38:15 But if you get called the fourth time, 38:18 that means you have to appear." 38:20 So they extended to me grace, 38:23 and I didn't have to go. 38:24 But they decide whether or not you're excused. 38:26 For example, if you say, 38:28 I can't come because I have to go to work. 38:29 They say, "It's not an excuse. 38:30 You'll be there." 38:32 I can't go because I've class. Not an excuse. You'll be there. 38:34 You better have a good excuse. 38:37 But in the judgment, nobody is going to be excused 38:40 because whether it's a good excuse 38:42 at the bottom, whether good or what? 38:44 Bad. 38:45 so the answer is, how many people 38:46 does the Bible reveal will be judged? 38:49 All, everybody's going to be involved, 38:51 everybody's going to have to appear. 38:53 And the only good excuse we're going to have is... 38:59 The only good excuse we gonna have... 39:01 What's his name? 39:06 I just want to see if you're listening 39:07 because you guys have not listened as well. 39:09 Is there any excuse for us not to appear? 39:12 Okay, I just want to hear. 39:15 Okay, I'm glad you didn't say Jesus 39:16 because Jesus is not excusing you. 39:18 You must all appear. 39:20 You were listening. 39:21 Question number three. Question number three. 39:25 What does the Bible reveal 39:27 will be the standard of judgment? 39:29 This is vitally important because sometimes 39:33 wealthy people sometimes think they play by different rules. 39:38 People that are not, 39:39 people that are considered society dropouts 39:41 think they play by different rules. 39:42 There are a lot of people that feel 39:44 that they have exclusiveness, 39:45 they don't have to play by the same rules. 39:48 Well, some people think that, well, I'm very educated, 39:51 I should be excused 39:52 or judge me based on my social status, 39:56 my educational abilities, 39:58 my financial resources, 40:00 and my status in society. 40:02 If that were the standard of judgment, 40:06 if wealth was, poor people will be lost. 40:09 If education was, uneducated people will be lost. 40:13 So the judgment has to be the same for every one of us. 40:16 Let's look at James 2:12. 40:19 The judgment has to be the same for 40:21 or the standard has to be the same for every one of us. 40:24 Here it is, 40:26 James 2:12, 40:28 and the Bible reads as follows, 40:30 "So speak and so," what else? 40:33 "Do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty." 40:39 Now the reason why it's called the law of liberty, 40:41 by the way, everybody is judged by law. 40:44 When you go to a court, 40:47 and I've learned this as I got older. 40:52 I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty of it, 40:54 but I've heard some people say 40:56 whether you win or lose the case 40:58 depends on the lawyer you have. 41:01 Because he'll use the law, 41:03 he'll argue the law in your favor. 41:05 He'll cite case history, 41:08 he'll dig, she will dig, 41:10 your lawyer team will dig, 41:12 and sometimes you could be as guilty as sin 41:16 but you can have a good lawyer 41:18 and he will get you either acquitted 41:21 or you'll be declared not guilty 41:23 or you will not be found guilty. 41:27 You won't be convicted in the criminal trial. 41:30 But what happens 41:31 when you're not convicted in the criminal trial? 41:33 Sometimes they come back for what? 41:34 Civil trial, 41:36 because the people that are persecuting 41:37 you said, I'm not having this. 41:38 They want to find you guilty of something. 41:41 But in this case, 41:42 law is the thing that's going to be the standard 41:44 by which every one of us is going to be judged. 41:46 The question is, what law? 41:49 Is it the law of the city of Thompsonville? 41:51 Is it the laws of the city of New York? 41:54 Is it the laws that were decided 41:55 by the Supreme Court of the United States? 41:57 What law? 41:58 Let's go to the very next question, 42:00 the very next question. 42:02 How do we know 42:05 that everything we do will be judged? 42:08 First of all, we know that the law is going to be 42:09 involved in that. 42:10 Let's find out what law that is. 42:12 Let's go to Ecclesiastes 42:17 12:13-14, 42:22 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. 42:33 I went to, I worked on a particular project 42:35 with a lawyer once, 42:37 this had nothing to do with a case, 42:38 had nothing to do with the trial. 42:40 This lawyer was involved in a number of other things. 42:43 And so I was invited to go where he was, 42:46 and prepare a project for him. 42:49 And he said, I want to take a picture 42:51 in the law library, 42:54 and I walked in the law library 42:56 and I looked at the amount of books 43:01 that were there. 43:02 And he said, 43:04 every year more get added to that. 43:06 I see, you mean that's not it? 43:07 He's said, oh, no, that's not it by far, 43:10 every year more and I said, what are those books? 43:13 He said those books are not just the laws 43:16 that are put there by the judicial system 43:20 of the city in which we live in and the Supreme Court, 43:22 but every year the books that get added are cases 43:25 that have taken place between 2011 and 2012 43:29 or 2012 to 13 and 13 to 14. 43:32 They had all these books, they document everything. 43:34 So you can say, 43:36 case number 653 on January 2, 1995, 43:42 Mark versus Jenny, 43:45 you could cite that case, 43:46 everything that we do is recorded 43:53 and I thought, man, 43:55 so if I win, 43:57 somebody could come back years later and cite 44:00 why and how I won 44:02 and use the same methods to win in a similar situation. 44:06 It's amazing. 44:07 You got to take some time, huh? 44:09 Yeah, this whole one 44:10 that we've heard for many years, 44:12 Roe versus Wade, you've heard that one. 44:13 That's been going on for decades, 44:16 much of my adult life, Roe v. Wade. 44:18 That's it, they've shortened Roe v. Wade, 44:21 and the case where Roe... 44:22 It's amazing, and that's been recorded. 44:24 They go back and cite that case law. 44:26 But let's look at how the Bible describes this. 44:28 How do we know that everything will be judged? 44:30 The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:13, 44:34 "Let us hear the conclusion 44:37 of the whole matter. 44:41 Fear God, and keep His commandments, 44:44 for this is the whole duty of man. 44:47 For God will bring every work into judgment, 44:51 with every," what kind of thing? 44:54 "Secret thing, whether it be good, 44:56 or whether it be," what? 44:57 "Evil." 44:59 Now, you know, if you read that text, 45:00 you would think, "Oh man, I'm in trouble." 45:04 But I want to pause and say the fear 45:06 that we can find that can grip us. 45:09 The fear that will grip us 45:10 is because we don't know the Lord is our Savior. 45:12 But when you know the Lord is your Savior, 45:15 then that fear is no longer there, 45:16 we'll find out. 45:18 I'm not going to jump ahead of myself, you'll find out. 45:19 In other words, 45:21 you better have a good what? 45:24 You better have a good lawyer, 45:25 because Jesus is not the prosecutor. 45:27 He is the defense attorney. 45:31 He's defending us. 45:33 He is arguing in our behalf. 45:38 Because you know, you can't come 45:39 to the court and say, 45:41 well, your Honor, I could give you five reasons 45:43 why I need to be saved. 45:47 Not of works, lest any man should what? 45:49 Boast. 45:50 There's no reasons on our part. 45:51 So the encouraging thing is, 45:55 we are called to labor for the Lord 45:57 but our labor is not propitious to our salvation, 46:01 it's not contingent. 46:02 Our salvation is not contingent on the work that we do, 46:05 for it is God who works in us both to will 46:07 and to do of His good pleasure. 46:09 The Holy Spirit's working in us and through us. 46:11 So the answer, how do we know 46:13 that everything we do will be judged? 46:15 It says, 46:17 "Every secret thing, whether it be," what? 46:20 "Good or whether it be," what? 46:22 Oh man, what a text? 46:24 What a text? 46:26 I'm gonna share a text in a moment here, 46:30 because what let's go to Hebrews. 46:32 Let's go to Hebrews. 46:33 I see the verses here in the lesson, 46:35 but I can cite it because I'm going to use 46:37 a verse a little earlier than that. 46:40 Okay. 46:43 Okay. 46:48 Let's see. 46:50 Let's, okay. Let's look at this. 46:52 Okay. 46:55 Hebrews 4:12, 46:58 and by the way, 46:59 let me add the answer into question number four. 47:02 The commandments of God 47:04 is the standard by which we are going 47:06 to be judged. 47:07 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, 47:08 fear God and keep His commandments. 47:10 That is, that is and I want to put this 47:12 in the right context. 47:14 We're not saying, 47:15 Oh, you know, this week, I'm up to number eight, 47:18 I got aided and perfected. 47:20 I just need to work on two more, 47:22 and then I'll be good. 47:24 And then you call your friend after like nine more months. 47:26 Hey, guess what? 47:28 Today I completed the tenth commandment. 47:31 I'm saved. 47:32 I'm good. 47:34 Is there any of us that are good? 47:36 No, not one. 47:38 It's the standard by which we shall be judged. 47:41 We're going to give you some more information 47:43 in just a moment. 47:44 Why God calls us to keep the commandments, 47:46 if the commandments are not the reason 47:49 why we're going to be saved? 47:50 All right. 47:51 We'll see that in a moment. 47:53 I could just... 47:54 I'll just give you this little tidbit. 47:56 We don't keep the commandments to be saved, 47:57 we keep the commandments 47:59 because we are in a saving relationship. 48:01 It is the parameters. 48:02 Let me use a story to illustrate this. 48:04 Now I talked about all the books in the court. 48:06 When my wife and I decided to get married, 48:08 we did not go down to the courthouse in Brooklyn, 48:13 and say, 48:15 I'd like to read all the books that you have about marriage, 48:20 that all the laws that govern a relationship. 48:22 I want to read them all just to make sure 48:24 that when I get married, I could do all that. 48:28 Can you imagine how that would be? 48:30 Can you imagine that? 48:33 You might walk into that, the judge may say, 48:35 do you really 48:37 want to see all the books 48:40 in the laws of this state 48:42 as it pertains to a marriage relationship? 48:44 Well, now that I'm a counselor, 48:47 I do a lot of couple counseling. 48:49 I'm aware of certain states like they say, 48:51 well, this state if you're getting divorce, 48:52 it's a 50-50 state. 48:54 You know, when people are thinking 48:56 about their relationships falling apart, 48:57 that's the only time they want to be concerned 48:59 with the law. 49:00 Well, this is a state where if you break up 49:02 and you have a house together where you got to split it 49:05 or well, this is the state where custody is 50-50. 49:08 All of a sudden they become familiar with the law. 49:10 But here's my point. 49:12 I didn't need any laws, I didn't need to read laws 49:15 before I decided to marry my wife 49:17 because I was marrying her because I what? 49:20 Loved her and so my love for her, 49:24 all those laws were in place 49:28 just because of my love for her. 49:30 That's how the law says, this is the love of God 49:32 that we keep His commandments, 49:33 and His commandments are not burdensome. 49:36 If my relationship was, 49:37 you know, Honey, I'm on book five, 49:39 page 19, paragraph 7. 49:42 I'm really working hard on this one for my marriage, 49:44 I don't know if I'm going to get it 49:46 but we got time, don't we? 49:48 Praise the Lord. 49:50 It is our love relationship 49:51 that holds the commandments of God in the right standing 49:56 between us and Him. 49:57 And the Holy Spirit has everything to do with that. 50:00 All right? 50:02 Now where are we going? 50:03 Hebrews 4, look at this, 50:05 Hebrews 4. 50:06 Because when I talked about 50:10 how there's nothing going to be hidden, 50:12 Look at verse 12, 50:14 "For the Word of God is living 50:16 and powerful or powerful and quick" 50:18 as the King James Version says, look at that, 50:21 "sharper than any two edged sword," 50:23 look at how deeply it gets, 50:25 "piercing even to the division," of what? 50:29 "Soul and spirit and of joints and marrow," 50:32 and look at the rest of the verse, 50:34 and this is very powerful when it comes, 50:36 "and is a discerner of the," what? 50:39 "Thoughts and intents of the heart." 50:42 I'm going to come back to that in the moment. 50:44 "And there is no creature..." 50:46 Look at verse 13, 50:47 "And there is no creature hidden from his sight 50:51 but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him 50:54 to whom we must," do what? 50:56 "Give an account." 50:59 Isn't that amazing? isn't that frightening? 51:01 I've seen criminals just about to create... 51:04 You know, these hidden cameras, 51:05 there're cameras every place nowadays. 51:09 Periodically somebody will put something on Facebook 51:11 or you see something on some kind of video feed in, 51:15 and they'll show some of the dumbest criminals 51:17 looking around, 51:19 looking around and this is all caught on tape. 51:22 The point of the matter is we live our lives 51:24 and everything we do in the eyes of God is what? 51:28 Caught on tape. 51:30 Now, if we would pause there and say, well, it's on tape. 51:36 It's recorded. It's in the books. 51:38 You're gonna have to face it in the judgment. 51:39 There's no getting by that, hit the play button. 51:42 It could be very frightening if you don't know the Lord. 51:45 Huh? Huh? 51:48 Right, okay, the spy camera, that's very good. 51:51 He's been caught, there's no, nothing hidden 51:54 and not only this, 51:56 but I want to point something out 51:57 and look at the end of verse 12, 52:01 "In the judgment, 52:02 we will also have to give an account for our thoughts 52:05 and our intentions. 52:08 I know what you said, 52:10 but that's not what you intended. 52:12 What did you intend? 52:14 What do you mean what I intend? 52:15 I know what you said. 52:17 But let me show you what you intended. 52:19 Hit the play button. 52:20 I know what you said, but I know what you thought. 52:24 See, it's amazing 52:26 how everything is open and clear before God. 52:30 So I've heard a lawyer once say, 52:33 in order for me to defend you, you've got to come clean. 52:37 In other words, don't hide anything from me. 52:40 How can I defend you 52:42 if you don't tell me what's going on? 52:45 Here's the good news. 52:46 Does the Lord know us? Yes, He does. 52:48 Does He know everything? Yes. 52:50 Okay, so what is good for, 52:53 I'm looking at the clock here, 52:55 I may just jump to it and come back, 52:57 back to it again, 52:58 because I wanna give you some encouragement. 53:00 You know, if we pause 53:02 at this point of the lesson and say, 53:03 "Well, see you next week." 53:05 People will say, "Man, 53:07 I don't think I'm going to make it." 53:09 And I've heard Christians for many years say, 53:12 "Oh, 53:13 I don't know if I'm ready." 53:16 And you know, there's nothing more frightening 53:17 than being a Christian 53:19 and not knowing if you're ready. 53:23 Oh, I read somewhere, 53:25 it's a work of a lifetime. 53:27 And you think, how long have I been Christian? 53:30 Just three years. "Oh, man. 53:32 I don't think I have enough time." 53:33 You got to understand 53:35 if it were based on everything you did, 53:38 then you really would be in a bad place to be. 53:41 Can I give you an encouraging verse? 53:43 Let's go to my favorite. 53:45 This has become my favorite. 53:49 You know exactly where I'm going, right, honey? 53:51 This has become my favorite. 53:53 We're gonna go to the Book of 1 John, 53:56 I'm pointing this in here 53:58 just before we go to question number five. 54:01 We're gonna go to 1 John Chapter 3, 54:04 that's right, 54:05 1 John 3:1-2. 54:09 And we're going to read down to verse 3, 54:10 just to give you the proper context to this, 54:13 because you need to know if you are a Christian, 54:15 you need to know 54:16 that the Lord loves you 54:18 and what He has started, 54:20 He will finish. 54:23 All right, 54:24 1 John 3:1-3. 54:31 Wow. 54:34 Oh, boy, I tell you, this is wonderful. 54:36 Okay, "Behold what manner of love the Father has," what? 54:42 "Bestowed on us." 54:44 In other words, He loves us, 54:47 "That we should be called the children of God. 54:52 Therefore, the world does not know us 54:54 because it did not know Him." 54:55 I want to pause and just give you 54:57 a powerful revelation right now. 55:00 If your lawyer were your dad, would you feel pretty good? 55:05 Huh? 55:07 Dad. 55:08 Son, you don't have to tell me anything. 55:10 I gave you life. I know everything about you. 55:15 Dad, you gonna be my lawyer. 55:17 I'm your lawyer. 55:18 I've been around your whole life. 55:20 I know everything about you. 55:22 And I'm going to defend you with everything I have 55:24 because you are my child. 55:27 Does a father want to see his child send away, sent away? 55:32 Does a mother want to see her daughter sent away? 55:35 If it's a mother defending her daughter 55:36 or father defending his son, 55:38 and she is your lawyer or he is your lawyer, 55:41 that prosecution team is going to have a fight 55:45 of their lives on their hands? 55:47 Because why is your mother? 55:49 Why is that lawyer fighting for you? 55:51 Because you're good? 55:53 No, they know of the many times that you disappointed. 55:55 They know of the many times that they've punished you, 55:57 they know of the many times that you've disappointed them. 55:59 Why are they fighting in your behalf? 56:01 Somebody tell me, 56:03 because they love you. 56:04 And they cannot fathom a thought of being separated 56:07 from their son or their daughter. 56:09 That's why they're fighting. 56:10 But now let's look at the verse. 56:11 Look at the next verse. 56:13 "Beloved," what is the very next word? 56:16 "Now we are children of God." 56:18 When are we the children of God? 56:19 Now, if we're facing the judgment, 56:21 and God is our Father, when are we his children? 56:25 Now. 56:26 So if His character is being examined, 56:31 and we are His children, if He's vindicated, 56:34 are we going to be vindicated? 56:36 Let's go on. 56:38 "And it has not yet been revealed 56:40 what we shall be. 56:42 But we know that when he is revealed, 56:43 we shall be," what? 56:45 "Like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 56:48 I would stop there and simply say, 56:51 He is righteous, what are we going to be? 56:53 Righteous. 56:54 We will see Him as He is and we will be like Him. 56:57 Amen to that. 56:58 That righteous character and then finally, verse 3. 57:02 This is what our responsibility is. 57:04 Now when, let me just put the context together here. 57:07 When your lawyer fights in your behalf 57:09 and your lawyer is your mother 57:12 or your father, or family member. 57:16 And they finally get you acquitted 57:18 or declared not guilty. 57:22 Would they say, let me use David as an example, 57:25 since he's right in front of me. 57:28 Would they say, David, go ahead and leave the court 57:30 and just commit as many crimes as you can 57:32 because you're free. 57:34 Will they say that? 57:35 Look what they'll say. 57:36 Verse 3, "And everyone 57:39 who has this hope in Him does," what? 57:42 "Purifies himself just as He is pure." 57:45 I have gotten you exonerated, 57:48 you've been declared guiltless, 57:50 you've been set free of the charges 57:52 have not been held against you. 57:54 There's nothing gonna be on your record. 57:56 Go and sin no more. 57:59 So what is our responsibility in light of the judgment? 58:03 In light of the judgment, the Lord is saying, 58:04 every day we can live in Christ, 58:07 that life, that is a consecrated life, 58:10 that is a sanctified life. 58:12 Because He's working out in us, 58:15 His good and acceptable and perfect will. 58:18 He's working out in every one of our lives every day, 58:21 the very thing that we need to know 58:24 and that is we need to know Him, 58:25 that we could have confidence, 58:27 that we can have boldness in the Day of Judgment. 58:29 Now, I want to go ahead and give you one more verse 58:32 before we wind up today. 58:33 Look at question number five, just the first verse. 58:36 And I think I can get it in about a minute and a half. 58:38 Question number five, let's go to that. 58:41 What are some of the specifics 58:42 that will be reviewed in the judgment? 58:45 Sure, very quickly, 58:47 Matthew 12:36-37. 58:51 Wow, this is terrible, 58:52 but I'm going to read it just in the interest of time. 58:55 Matthew 12:36-37. 59:00 Pray, Lord, put a lock in front of our mouths. 59:05 "But I say to you that for every idle word, 59:08 men may speak, 59:09 they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. 59:16 For by your words, you will be justified 59:19 and by your words you will be," what? 59:22 Condemned. 59:23 This is amazing, not only by your deeds 59:26 and your actions, 59:27 but by your thoughts 59:29 and your intentions and by your words. 59:32 Is everything under review? 59:34 Yes. 59:35 You need to come back for the next leg of this lesson 59:39 because right now you may be walking 59:40 around your house saying, Lord Jesus have mercy on me. 59:45 There's good news when you know Jesus 59:47 as your personal Savior. 59:48 There's good news, the judgment is not a fearful event, 59:52 when you know that the Lord is your righteous judge. 59:54 So, friends, we encourage you 59:56 to continue studying the Word of God 59:58 and if it doesn't make sense, 59:59 yet, one day it will come into A Sharper Focus. 01:00:03 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-07-05