Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000097
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00:18 Hello, friends,
00:20 welcome to another Wednesday night Bible study 00:22 here at the 3ABN Worship Center at A Sharper Focus. 00:27 And we thank you for tuning in 00:29 and we are always very appreciative 00:31 of those of you who take the time 00:33 to crack open the pages of your Bible 00:35 and to sit down with us for the next hour 00:36 as we walk through God's Word together. 00:39 And wherever you are if you are joining us 00:41 from Buffalo New York, 00:42 our prayers are with you because we know that right now 00:45 they're having a winter wonderland, 00:47 but wherever you may be joining us from, 00:49 we like to welcome you with a hearty amen. 00:51 Can we all say amen to that? 00:53 Amen. 00:54 And get your Bibles, and your family, 00:55 and your friends, and your pens, 00:57 and we're going to walk 00:58 as we do through the Word of God 01:00 in a spiritual excursion. 01:02 But before we talk 01:04 about where to get a copy of the lesson 01:05 and anything else, 01:07 we always begin with a word of prayer. 01:08 Let's pray together. 01:10 Precious Father and our God, 01:13 precious savior and our Lord 01:15 tonight we come to You asking for Your presence 01:18 to guide us tonight 01:20 through the study of Your Word. 01:23 Lord, this all important topic of the judgment 01:26 is one that calls for sober minds, 01:29 for godly lives 01:31 for those of us who will take an account 01:34 of where we are in light of this present setting 01:38 that we are living under. 01:40 And we do pray that Your Holy Spirit 01:42 will be our teacher tonight 01:43 we ask, in Jesus' name we pray. 01:46 Amen. 01:48 Now, what is the lesson number we're up to, 01:50 lesson number what? 01:52 Lesson number 28 is our lessons for tonight, 01:56 lesson number what? 01:57 Twenty eight. Twenty eight. 01:58 And if you're wanting a copy of that lesson, 02:01 go to this following website 02:03 ASF.3abn.org 02:06 and download lesson number 28, 02:09 "The Truth About The Judgment." 02:11 Now, some of you have done that before 02:13 I added an additional page 02:16 and so you should have page one and two 02:21 from question one down to question number 17. 02:24 Now, in a later lesson 02:26 what we're going to do 02:27 is we're going to establish the timing of the judgment. 02:30 We're gonna look at the prophecies 02:31 of the judgment. 02:33 You know, Daniel Chapter 7, Daniel Chapter 9. 02:35 We're gonna look up what the Bible talks about 02:37 in the prophetic setting about the judgment. 02:38 But tonight 02:40 we're talking about the conditions of the judgment 02:42 and the kind of life that the Lord wants us to live 02:45 in light of the judgment. 02:47 But before we dive into our lesson, 02:49 we always sing our theme song 02:50 so join us as we sing this song tonight, 02:53 "Victory in Jesus." 03:03 I heard an old, old story 03:07 How the Savior came from glory 03:10 How He gave His life on Calvary 03:14 To save a wretch like me 03:18 I heard about His groaning 03:22 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:26 Then I repented of my sin 03:29 And won the victory 03:33 O victory in Jesus 03:37 My Savior forever 03:41 He sought me and bought me 03:44 With His redeeming blood 03:48 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:52 And all my love is due Him 03:56 He plunged me to victory 04:00 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:03 I heard about a mansion 04:07 He has built for me in glory 04:11 And I heard about the streets of gold 04:15 Beyond the crystal sea 04:18 About the angels singing 04:22 And the old redemption story 04:26 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:30 The song of victory Key change. 04:34 O victory in Jesus 04:37 My Savior forever 04:41 He sought me and bought me 04:45 With His redeeming blood 04:49 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:52 And all my love is due Him 04:56 He plunged me to victory 05:00 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:04 He plunged me to victory 05:08 Beneath the cleansing flood 05:14 Amen. 05:16 "The Truth About The Judgment" 05:19 is the topic of lesson tonight 05:21 as we're gonna continue. 05:23 We began 05:25 and we restarted the lesson 05:26 because so much time 05:28 was between our first session and the next. 05:30 And tonight we're gonna begin with question number five, 05:32 but let me just go ahead and lay 05:34 some short brief foundation. 05:36 Go with me to Revelation Chapter 14 in your Bible. 05:40 What book did I say? Revelation. 05:42 Revelation, and what chapter? Fourteen. 05:44 Revelation Chapter 14. 05:47 Revelation Chapter 14. 05:49 It's still amazing to me that many Christians are taught 05:53 that Revelation is this mysterious hard 05:55 to understand book, 05:57 when in fact it's not hard to understand. 05:59 The Bible makes it clear in the very beginning, 06:01 "Hear what the Spirit says to the churches." 06:04 And if you are asking for the Spirit 06:07 to lead your life and to guide you 06:09 through God's Word, 06:10 Revelation is not a mystery. 06:12 Matter of fact, the very name of Revelation 06:14 means the book of revealing. 06:16 It's not the closed book, 06:18 it's the open book. 06:20 And so tonight as we look 06:21 at the messages of the last days, 06:24 the Bible refers to three messages, 06:26 what are they called? 06:28 The three angels' messages? 06:31 Angels, not because physical angels 06:33 are flying around 06:34 shouting a message to the earth, 06:36 but angels are also synonymous 06:38 to messengers. 06:40 And when the Bible says, 06:41 let's look at Revelation Chapter 14, 06:43 instead of me just quoting it from mine, 06:45 I'll have you follow along in the pages of the scripture. 06:49 Revelation 14:6-7, 06:52 "And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, 06:56 having the everlasting gospel to preach 06:58 to those who dwell on the earth, 07:00 to every nation, tribe, tongue and people." 07:02 So how many people are to hear this message? 07:05 Everybody. 07:06 What is he saying? 07:08 "Saying with a loud voice," a voice of urgency, 07:11 "fear God and give glory to Him, 07:14 for the hour of His judgment 07:17 has come or is come," 07:19 depending on whatever translation you have. 07:21 Some people have the King James, 07:23 some have New King James, 07:24 but the judgment hour is here. 07:26 We're living in the hour of God's judgment. 07:29 And I want to make that very abundantly clear. 07:31 It is the hour of God's judgment. 07:34 Now, putting that in the proper context, 07:37 sometimes we think, "Well, I'm on trial," 07:41 and I want to tell you today, 07:44 if I were on trial 07:46 and my salvation was based on my works, 07:49 would I be saved or would I be lost? 07:50 Come on, somebody help me out. 07:52 We'll all be lost. 07:54 Our salvation is based on the righteousness and the... 07:59 Let me use another word, 08:01 not only the righteousness 08:02 but the integrity of the character of Jesus, 08:05 the integrity of the character of Jesus. 08:07 So when we talk about the integrity 08:09 of the character of Jesus, 08:10 the one that really is on trial is the Father. 08:15 But because He's on trial, 08:17 His children who declare to be connected to Him 08:20 are also on trial. 08:23 In other words, are you really a righteous God? 08:26 That's what the universe wants to know. 08:28 That's what Satan has accused Christ 08:30 of not being just. 08:33 But there's also another factor to that. 08:37 If you are in fact, 08:39 looking forward to eternity, 08:40 let's back up from our perspective, 08:43 and think of this from a heavenly point of view. 08:47 Now that the angels that remained two thirds, 08:51 they knew that Satan and the angels 08:53 that followed him or expunged 08:56 or evicted from heaven put out 08:58 because they sinned, 09:00 so heaven is a sinless place right now. 09:02 Amen for that? 09:04 But as the great controversy 09:07 as we are a spectacle to the universe 09:10 as the unfallen world, 09:12 and I use that phrase loosely 09:14 because when I use that phrase, 09:16 people will ask, 09:18 "Well, how do you know others are looking?" 09:19 Well the Bible says we are a spectacle. 09:22 What the Bible means by a spectacle 09:23 as we are being observed. 09:25 Spectacles, what are those? 09:27 Did anybody ever had spectacles? 09:29 We don't call them spectacles anymore. 09:31 We call them what? Glasses. 09:32 If I said, "Let me borrow your spectacle." 09:34 Somebody say, "What year are you living in?" 09:36 But we are, we are a spectacle, 09:38 we are being viewed. 09:40 But now think about the angels 09:42 that did not sin. 09:44 They might wonder, 09:46 "Jesus, are You really going to bring 09:49 those sinners in here?" 09:52 And what makes you think 09:54 that what happened before is not going to happen again. 09:58 So at that very point 10:02 we are, our lives are being examined 10:05 as to our worthiness to make it into the kingdom. 10:08 But once again, I repeat, 10:09 if it were just about my life, 10:11 I would not have any possibility 10:13 of entering the kingdom. 10:15 But because of the righteousness of Jesus 10:19 being bestowed on us, 10:20 I like the text, 10:23 "Beloved, behold, 10:25 what manner of love the Father 10:27 has bestowed on us, 10:29 that we should be called the," what? 10:31 "Children of God." 10:32 That's powerful if you think about it. 10:34 A sinless God bestows on us His love, 10:38 and then calls us His children. 10:41 But the children of God will be examined 10:43 as to their worthiness. 10:45 You see, to be very clear about it. 10:49 If any event occurred in your home, 10:52 let me just be specific. 10:54 If your wallet was missing in your home, 10:57 would you begin by going to the neighbor's house 11:00 to look for your wallet? 11:01 Or if you had a lot of children, 11:03 where would you start? 11:04 You start as, "Did you see my wallet? 11:06 Can anyone see my wallet?" 11:07 If you hear something happening 11:09 that is connected to your family name, 11:12 would you start by checking with the neighbors, 11:14 or would you check with your family members first? 11:16 And you see where I'm headed with this in a moment 11:18 as I get to the particular text. 11:20 Anybody claiming to have a connection with Christ, 11:23 the connection with Christ 11:24 is going to be examined 11:26 whether or not it's just what you said, 11:27 or whether or not it's how you live. 11:29 That's the purpose of the judgment. 11:31 Is it just a declaration 11:32 because many could say, "We're Christians," 11:34 the Bible says, "Many will say, Lord, Lord," 11:38 but because they are not connected to Christ 11:42 in their righteous life, 11:44 He'll say, "Depart from me, you who work," what? 11:47 "Iniquity." 11:49 So they're professing His name. 11:50 Matter of fact, go with me to Isaiah Chapter 4. 11:53 Just another text before we go into question number five. 11:56 Look at Isaiah. 11:59 Christianity nowadays is popular. 12:05 Let's see. 12:13 Okay. 12:21 Okay, Isaiah 4:1. 12:24 Isaiah 4:1. 12:26 All right? 12:28 "In that day..." 12:29 It's a little warm tonight. 12:32 "In that day, seven women 12:35 shall take hold of one man, saying..." 12:40 Let me just break this down in the Bible. 12:43 In prophecy, what symbol is used 12:45 to identify the church? 12:47 A woman, and who would the man be 12:50 if the woman represents the church? 12:53 Come on speak to me, who would the man be? 12:54 Christ. Okay. 12:56 Seven women will take hold of one man 12:59 and how providential it is that there are seven churches 13:02 talked about in Revelation. 13:04 The number seven is a number of perfection. 13:06 And they would say, 13:08 "We will eat our own bread or our own food, 13:12 we will wear our own apparel, 13:14 only let us be called by your," what? 13:18 "Name to take away our reproach." 13:21 So to say you're a Christian, today in the eyes of the world, 13:24 it really doesn't mean much. 13:26 Because with all this, 13:28 with all the things that are happening in Christianity, 13:30 and I don't want to get into that at all, 13:32 but what I'm saying is, 13:34 it's important to have more than just the name Christian. 13:36 Amen? Amen. 13:38 That's what the purpose of the judgment is. 13:39 So tonight, as we begin to go through that, 13:41 I want to go ahead and begin. 13:42 I'm going to go and speed right 13:44 through to question number five. 13:47 I'm gonna go just very quickly there 13:49 and get to question number five, 13:51 so that we could look at that together. 13:53 Question number five 13:54 is where we're going to be starting tonight, right? 13:57 Let's look at that. 13:59 And the question is, 14:01 what are some of the specifics 14:04 that will be reviewed in the judgment? 14:12 Let's begin by going to Matthew Chapter 12. 14:15 Matthew Chapter 12, 14:17 and we're going to look together 14:18 at verse 36 and verse 37. 14:22 You know, it's hard to read it, it's hard to do this lesson 14:26 and not to go through self-examination. 14:28 I just want to testify, 14:29 and let you know that 14:31 while I'm putting this lesson together, 14:32 it's like I'm turning the mirror on myself. 14:35 I'm literally beginning to search 14:38 through my own spiritual closet. 14:40 I'm beginning to examine my own spiritual life, 14:43 beginning to chronicle myself and say, 14:45 "Wait a minute, you're teaching 14:47 about the judgment. 14:48 But are you living in harmony 14:49 with the very topic you're teaching others?" 14:53 It's important not just to teach 14:54 about the judgment, 14:55 but to live the life that the judgment requires 14:59 that we should live. 15:01 Look at these texts, these texts 15:02 if you don't know the Lord, 15:03 some of these texts will have you biting your fingernails. 15:06 Here's what it says in Matthew Chapter 12, 15:08 beginning with verse 36. 15:10 It's on the screen. 15:11 Let's read this one together as we begin, 15:13 "But I say to you, 15:15 that for every idle word men may speak, 15:20 they will give," what? 15:22 "Account of it in the day of judgment." 15:25 Why? 15:26 For by your word, you will be what? 15:29 Justified and by your words, you will be what? 15:32 Condemned, have mercy. 15:35 You think about that. 15:36 And when you go to court, nowadays, in this society, 15:40 there was a time 15:41 I was talking to somebody about this the other day. 15:43 There was a time when people went to concerts, 15:46 or any kind of public event 15:47 that they did not allow any recording devices in there. 15:50 Remember that? 15:51 Now, I'm not talking about that you went to concerts, 15:52 but in light of the fact that there was a time 15:55 when privacy was something that we enjoyed. 15:57 Do we live in a society where we enjoy privacy anymore? 16:00 Come on, say to me? 16:01 Absolutely not, everything is on videotape, 16:04 police show up, 16:05 everybody pull their cameras out. 16:07 And by the way I found out today 16:08 it is perfectly legal to videotape anyone 16:13 that works for an official government agency. 16:17 It's completely legal. 16:18 So if a police says, 16:19 "Turn your camera off," that's a legal process. 16:21 You can record any transaction 16:23 between you and a parole officer 16:25 or a police officer, 16:26 not a parole but a police officer. 16:27 Anybody that shows up and so, 16:29 but what's happening nowadays, 16:30 my point is, if you say things, 16:33 if you post stuff on the internet, 16:36 if it's on Facebook, there was a time 16:38 when you go for a job interview 16:40 that nobody cared about what you did on the internet. 16:42 Those days are gone. 16:44 Am I right? 16:45 "What's your name? 16:47 How do you spell your name? Marlena. 16:48 Okay, check her Facebook page." 16:50 Social media, now you're being judged by that. 16:53 And I also heard of a case just recently, 16:55 Sandusky, you remember the guy Sandusky, 16:58 who has been accused of molesting so many boys 17:00 in the school that he was? 17:02 It was just disclosed on the news the other day. 17:04 While the people that are prosecuting him 17:06 and the judge that's overseeing the case, 17:08 and many of the prosecution team, 17:09 they themselves are guilty of this kind of impropriety. 17:14 Pornography going through the internet 17:16 from their jobs from workers to worker. 17:19 This is not the day and age of privacy. 17:21 So now, here's my point, 17:22 and we'll get to that in a moment. 17:24 If they are being judged by everything they type, 17:28 by everything they send, 17:29 we've heard of congressman that, 17:31 you know, years ago when Jim Bakker, 17:35 remember Jim Bakker, 17:36 when he got arrested and Jimmy Swaggart was "Yea..." 17:41 Then three months later, 17:42 Jimmy Swaggart, "I have sinned." 17:45 Everything that is in the dark, 17:48 everything you say, 17:49 what you write is going to be... 17:52 It's not only being revealed by men, 17:54 but if men see it, does God see it? 17:57 And this is amazing, 17:58 "For by your words, you'll be justified." 18:00 You gotta be careful what you say. 18:03 Not only careful what you say. 18:04 So let's go ahead and put the answer down. 18:06 What are some of the specifics 18:07 that would be reviewed in the judgment? 18:08 Okay, idle words, 18:11 idle words, words. 18:14 I met somebody that was really quiet 18:15 and you couldn't get them to talk at all. 18:17 And somebody said, "Why are they so quiet?" 18:19 I said "They want to repent of a whole lot less than us 18:22 in the judgment." 18:24 Because everything you say, 18:25 but we found out last week, 18:27 it was not just by what you say. 18:29 It was not just by what you say. 18:32 Remember that? 18:33 So let's just go and put the first one down. 18:34 Matthew 12:36-37, 18:37 "The words you say, you'll have to meet them again. 18:41 You'll have to meet them again. 18:42 Unrepented of, 18:44 you'll have to meet them again." 18:45 But also, I want to say 18:47 what I've heard before they said 18:48 whatever you say, make it soft and sweet. 18:51 Just in case one day you have to eat it. 18:55 Soft and what? 18:56 Sweet, because sometimes we could shout out 18:59 words to people 19:00 and they'll echo back to us later. 19:02 Be careful. 19:03 My mother used to say, 19:05 if you can't say something good, finish it. 19:08 Most of us don't even take that advice, 19:11 'cause we grow up and start our own. 19:13 I may give them piece of my mind. 19:15 Well, whatever peace of mind you gave them, 19:18 it'll be reviewed in the judgment. 19:20 Let's look at the next one. 19:21 Not only what you say, but 1 Corinthians 4:5, 19:25 let's look at that together. 19:26 1 Corinthians 4:5. 19:28 The judgment is a serious process, 19:30 'cause I tell you, whenever they do it, 19:32 what they call discovery and investigation 19:34 in court cases, 19:39 by the time you're called to court. 19:44 You know, they got your name. 19:46 They know what they're coming after you for, all right? 19:51 Let's look at this one. 19:52 Let's look at this one. 19:53 Okay. 19:55 Here it is on the screen." 19:58 Therefore, judge nothing before the time, 20:02 until the Lord comes, 20:04 who will both bring to light the," what? 20:09 "Hidden things of darkness and reveal the," what? 20:14 "Counsels of the hearts. 20:17 Then each one's praise will come from God." 20:20 See, let me make that really clear 20:21 what this is talking about. 20:23 You see people praise us 20:24 because they don't know the rest of the story. 20:27 On Facebook today, 20:28 I'm not a Facebook person. 20:30 But once in a while I'll look in there 20:32 because with these new phones nowadays, 20:34 most of you have smartphones. 20:37 It just keeps popping, bing, bing, bing, bing, 20:42 what's all these bings, and I'm going there, 20:43 21 and it's right above the Facebook dot, I hit it. 20:47 And I looked at this thing that was amazing to me. 20:51 Ladies on one of the networks, 20:52 I don't know if it's Good Morning America 20:54 or Today Show whatever. 20:55 She's one of the talk show hosts on one of the programs. 20:58 She was talking about how she was invited to be... 21:05 I'm gonna be very general to be a part 21:07 of a particular concert series 21:09 where they were three other ladies 21:10 that were going to be a part of that. 21:11 And she was told to call in at a specific time 21:13 to be a part of this conference call. 21:15 Well, to be just so she could be punctual, 21:18 she called in earlier and she said, 21:21 "You know, they kind of put you 21:22 in a queue until the calls..." 21:24 While the other three ladies had already been there. 21:26 So they put her in a queue 21:27 and they left her on mute 21:28 as she listened to the other three ladies 21:30 totally destroy her character and things they said about her. 21:35 She said, "She listened for good 20 minutes," 21:37 and she said "Until today," 21:39 when she said it on television. 21:40 She said, "They didn't know until today 21:43 that I listened to everything 21:44 they said about me for 20 minutes. 21:47 They talked about the way I looked. 21:49 They talked about how they didn't like me, 21:50 they talked about all her characteristics." 21:53 And she said "I never let them know. 21:55 They didn't know until right now 21:56 that I'm saying it upon international television. 21:59 They don't know until right now," 22:00 she said, "But there's a reason why 22:02 I never said it." 22:03 She said, "Because I knew that one day 22:05 I'd have to work with them. 22:06 Every one of those women 22:08 that were part of that conversation, 22:09 I worked with every one of them 22:10 since that conversation, 22:12 and I never told them that I knew what they felt 22:14 and thought and said about me. 22:16 I didn't tell them a single word, 22:18 they don't know until right now." 22:21 But she said, "I could have been angry and upset, 22:24 I could have been vindictive, 22:25 I could start at ways to get back at them. 22:27 But I just want to thank them. 22:30 Because they were able to say things 22:32 behind my back they really felt 22:35 and it fueled me to not come back 22:40 with an evil attitude, but to prove..." 22:44 Let me just put this right. 22:46 "Not to try to get back at them. 22:48 But it fueled me to take inventory of my own life 22:52 to see whether these things were true." 22:54 And she said, "Sadly enough, a lot of them were true. 22:58 But they didn't want to tell me to my face. 22:59 So they told me behind my back." 23:03 And now she said, "I want to just thank you 23:05 for saying what you did, 23:07 because it gave me the propulsion 23:09 that I needed to make it to where I am today." 23:14 And she said, "Where are they? 23:17 She's on international television, 23:19 "Where are they" 23:20 In other words. 23:23 "I did something about what I heard." 23:25 The point I'm making is, 23:27 she could have used it, 23:29 and load up all those words 23:31 and justifyingly came after every one of them. 23:35 But she considered the counsels of her heart. 23:38 And now all the praise that she's getting 23:40 is not because she succeeded, 23:42 but because she never was a vengeful individual. 23:45 You see, what I'm saying is all that we do, 23:50 the only one whose praise that really does count 23:52 is the praise that comes from who? 23:55 The only praise that matters 23:56 is the praise that comes from God. 23:58 Here's my point. 23:59 We could live lives that other people may praise, 24:01 but the only life that we must live 24:03 is the life that God will praise. 24:04 Come on, say amen to that. 24:06 'Cause those are those, that's the hidden life. 24:08 Who you are when no one's watching 24:09 is who you really are. 24:11 What you do when no one is around 24:13 is who you really are. 24:14 When the judgment is over, 24:15 God wants to say to you, "Good, good job. 24:18 Whoo! 24:20 I know those one. I've seen you. 24:21 I heard you call me in those moments of temptation. 24:24 Oh, I even saw when you fail some time, 24:26 but I'm so glad you turned back to me 24:28 and asked me for forgiveness." 24:30 We're not speaking about perfect individuals. 24:32 We're speaking about people 24:33 that are consciously living in the hour of the judgment. 24:36 So what else is going to be reviewed in the judgment? 24:38 The counsels of our hearts, 24:40 put that on 1 Corinthians 4:5, 24:42 "The counsels and the thoughts of our heart," 24:45 the hidden things, the things in darkness, 24:49 those things will come out. 24:50 So don't ever think we got by, 24:52 you know, we don't get by because the only one 24:54 that we really have to get by is God 24:56 and, you know, the thoughts... 25:00 I mentioned that last week 25:01 when we went to Hebrews Chapter 4, 25:03 we're going to get there in a moment, 25:05 we're going to get there till the next text. 25:07 Okay, when we get into the next text. 25:09 Let's go to question number six. 25:10 Here we are, question number six. 25:13 How do we know that it is not possible 25:16 to hide anything in the judgment? 25:24 You know, you've heard that before. 25:25 We go to Hebrews 4:13, 25:28 Hebrews 4:13. 25:31 Sometimes people have lawyers 25:33 that they don't even tell the whole truth to 25:34 and they want the lawyers to defend them. 25:36 I remember some cases where you... 25:38 I don't know if it's in shows 25:41 or whatever the case may be but some lawyers say, 25:43 "How can I defend you if you don't tell me 25:46 if you really did it? 25:48 Be open with at least me, let me know everything. 25:52 Don't let me as your defense attorney 25:54 walk into court, 25:55 and here's something that you should have told me. 25:59 How could I defend you, 26:00 how could I stand in your favor?" 26:02 But look at what the Bible says. 26:04 Hebrews 4:13. 26:08 Okay, here it is. 26:12 "And there is no creature or creation, 26:17 hidden from His sight, but all things are," what? 26:21 "Naked and," what else? 26:23 "Open to the eyes of Him 26:25 to whom we must give account." 26:29 Wow. Wow, wow. 26:32 Wow. 26:34 You know sometimes 26:35 you can't share all your praises, 26:36 but sometimes you have to. 26:38 And that's why it's important to keep very accurate records 26:41 because sometimes you'll be called into account 26:42 and if you can't prove, 26:44 you know, like last week 26:45 when Illinois remember that guy called and... 26:50 Okay, I won't tell that story. 26:52 My wife didn't catch it. 26:54 And I said, I got my receipt. 26:56 I got the day... 26:59 Okay my wife gave me approval to share that story. 27:02 Tax season. 27:03 Who likes tax season? 27:05 I see no hands are up. 27:07 We are all in agreement, 27:08 but you got to pay it, right? 27:10 You're going to... April 15 27:12 on in October and some people pay it quarterly. 27:15 Well, when I hadn't paid my taxes this year 27:18 and still I got a letter from the good old boys saying 27:22 "You haven't paid and now here there's all these penalties." 27:25 I said, ha-ha, when I get home, honey, 27:29 I called them on the road, they said, 27:30 "Do you have this such and such and such." 27:32 I don't have with me but when I get home 27:33 I will be calling back. 27:35 When got home and made the phone call, 27:38 you know, when you know that you know that you know 27:41 you don't mind standing before the judgment book. 27:43 Come on, can I get an amen? 27:45 When you know what you've done is right, 27:46 you don't fear being examined. 27:50 Called, okay. 27:52 So security number, here it is. 27:54 Are you sir... verify. 27:55 Yes I verify, great. Okay. 27:57 Now according to the record, 27:58 you owe such and such, I said, 28:00 "Your records are incorrect. 28:02 Because I not only have how much I sent, 28:05 but when I sent it, from where I sent it, 28:08 and not only that I got a return receipt stamp 28:10 that your office received it." 28:12 So let's look for that. "Oh, hold on, hold on." 28:16 Ten minutes. "Hold on, hold on. 28:19 Okay. All right? 28:21 Well, error on our part. 28:23 Upon closer investigation your balance is zero. 28:28 Amen. "Your balance is zero." 28:31 That's the second encounter in our lives 28:33 in that same thing. 28:34 And in both encounters, praise God, 28:36 I give Him the glory. 28:37 You got to keep records, you got to do what? 28:39 Keep records. 28:40 Let me tell you why this going to transition to the judgment 28:42 because your records are going to be examined in the judgment. 28:45 The record of your life, you got to remember that. 28:47 You got to remember that the record of your life 28:49 will be examined as the records 28:51 are being examined in the earth. 28:53 People are concerned about records. 28:54 And if you can't stand behind what's in that record, 28:58 then you know, you're not going to be able 28:59 to stand in the judgment. 29:01 That's why it says 29:02 "We..." the last four words together, 29:05 "We must give account." 29:08 That's what's gonna happen in the judgment. 29:10 How do we know that it is not possible 29:12 to hide anything, we must what? 29:14 Give account, you want to write those four words down. 29:16 Let's go to now Luke 8:17. 29:20 Luke 8:17, 29:23 you see, this is a sobering message 29:25 but it's also a delightful one 29:27 when you're not fooling yourself. 29:31 Notice I didn't say fooling anybody else, 29:33 because you can't fool the Lord. 29:36 The only one that we can pull the wool over 29:40 the eyes of are ourselves, is ourselves. 29:43 And, you know, they say you can fool 29:44 some of the people some of the time, 29:47 or all the people some of the time 29:48 but you can't fool 29:49 all of the people all of the time. 29:52 You can't fool God at all. 29:53 Look at Luke 8:17. 29:56 Here it is, here it is. 30:00 We can read this together. 30:02 Are we all ready? 30:03 "For nothing is," what? 30:05 "Secret that will not be revealed, 30:08 nor anything hidden that will not be known and," 30:12 what else? 30:13 "Come to light." 30:14 What's the phrase 30:16 that you've heard throughout the life? 30:17 You know, people, 30:18 what's the phrase that you heard? 30:20 Say it again? 30:22 What's hidden in the dark will come to light. 30:24 Sometimes you just... 30:25 We've taken our own, we've taken that short portion 30:27 of the scripture out ourselves. 30:28 What's hidden is, yeah, that's what you say, 30:30 what's hidden in the dark will come to light. 30:32 I know that's what you said, but I'm going to school. 30:36 I have learned when people say, 30:38 you don't believe me? 30:41 No. 30:43 You know, you're not gonna take my word for it. 30:45 You know, kids would do that. 30:47 Take my word for it. 30:49 No, I want to see the paper, 30:50 I'm not taking your word for anything. 30:51 'Cause if you've ever had to raise children, 30:54 they'll try to back you in the corner with, 30:56 "Don't you believe me?" 31:00 We raised, we don't have children, 31:01 but we raised enough nieces and nephews to know 31:03 that when they say, "Why don't you believe me?" 31:05 Open the closet, an avalanche. 31:08 They claim to have cleaned their room. 31:09 How did you clean so fast? 31:12 Open the closet, like you don't believe me. 31:14 Open the closet, avalanche. 31:16 They hid it in the closet. 31:18 My niece. Praise the Lord. 31:20 She's grown up, now she has her own child. 31:23 But I remember she used to clean the kitchen. 31:24 I say, how did you sweep the kitchen so fast? 31:27 Until one day I pulled out the refrigerator 31:29 and found all the dust 31:31 that she claimed to have picked up. 31:33 "What's hidden in the dark shall 31:35 come to light." 31:36 So there's nothing hidden. 31:38 God can see us sweeping stuff under the rug. 31:40 You've heard that phrase, sweep it under the rug. 31:43 Hiding it, you can't hide it. 31:45 Nothing is secret that will not be revealed, 31:49 nor anything hidden that will not be known 31:51 and come to light. 31:52 And sometimes it's just a matter of... 31:54 It's just a matter of what? 31:56 Time. 31:57 It'll come to light. 31:59 Affairs, playing, stealing. 32:04 That's why... 32:05 You know the thing that always amazes me 32:07 and I'm a pastor, so I could say this. 32:10 I can't figure out how people can serve God 32:12 and rob God and still claim to be getting ready for heaven. 32:18 Somebody once preached, and I was so glad to hear this, 32:21 one of our very well known preacher said, 32:23 "Returning tithe] to God is the least 32:27 that you are called to do." 32:29 Not the most, that's the least 'cause it belongs to Him. 32:34 You gonna steal something from God and say, 32:35 "Oh, I can't wait for Jesus to come." 32:37 Okay, well, let me check your financial records. 32:40 You might be taking the down elevator. 32:43 So we got to give account for everything, 32:45 not just our lives, but our honesty before God 32:47 and too many years 32:49 we always talk about this in meetings, 32:51 they say 30%, 40% of the church supports, 32:53 the other 60% 32:55 and the whole crew claims to be serving God. 32:59 Sad but it's not gonna happen. 33:01 So the answer is, to Luke 8:17, what's it? 33:06 "Nothing is secret?" 33:07 That's right. 33:09 Nothing is secret. 33:10 And there's one more text. 33:12 There's one more text. 33:15 Matthew 6:6, 33:18 let's go to Matthew 6:6. 33:21 All right? 33:23 Matthew 6:6. 33:26 Okay, here it is. 33:31 "But you, when you pray, go into your room," 33:36 some translation says your closet, 33:39 "and when you have shut your door, 33:42 pray to your Father who is," where? 33:45 "In the secret place, 33:47 and your Father who sees in," what? 33:50 "Secret will reward you," how? 33:52 "Openly." 33:54 I read a devotional the other day, 33:56 I was gonna share with my board on a couple nights ago. 34:00 But I think that's gonna be the catapulting foundation 34:02 of my sermon this Sabbath. 34:04 But, you know, sometimes we live 34:06 for those grand and great and glorious moments, 34:09 when in fact, the only grand and great and glorious moment 34:11 before God is the life that we consistently live 34:14 on a day by day basis. 34:15 Without the lights, without the camera, 34:17 without the action, without the stage, 34:18 God's looking for that life. 34:20 He's not looking for those Elisha mountaintop moments. 34:22 He wants to see you 34:24 on the mountaintop as well as in the valley. 34:26 So God is looking for the consistency there. 34:28 And the author, which is Oswald Chambers, 34:31 pointed out, he says, he says, 34:34 "Without those glorious grand and," 34:37 and I'm using my own phrase, 34:38 "lights, camera, action moments." 34:42 God is looking for that consistent life 34:44 that may go completely unnoticed 34:46 by those around you, but noticed by God, 34:50 so we can't live 34:51 because we want to like the Pharisees, 34:54 there's some people that pray wonderfully in public. 34:56 The Pharisees did too. 34:58 "Thank God, Lord, I'm not like other men." 35:00 And there's some people that have glorious prayers 35:02 and they have wonderful public lives. 35:04 But what is going to be reviewed in the judgment 35:07 is those things that have been secret, 35:09 then the Lord is going to bring those secret things out. 35:12 And if you have been faithful before God, 35:14 He will reward us how? 35:16 Openly. 35:17 That's the only reward that we really want. 35:19 The one that we want to hear is, 35:21 "Well done thou good and faithful servant." 35:23 That's what we want to hear. 35:25 So the answer to number six, 35:26 how do we know that it is not possible 35:28 to hide anything? 35:30 Because the Father sees in what? 35:32 The Father sees in secret. 35:35 Always amazes me when you see those... 35:39 When people want to rob somebody, 35:40 they go like this, they look to the left, 35:43 when they want to steal something, 35:45 they look to the left, see if anybody looking. 35:46 They need to look up, 35:48 because there's always somebody looking. 35:50 Nowadays, it's ridiculous to even try to steal anything. 35:52 And there's still people that walk into Walmart and Macy's 35:55 and pack their clothing and their jackets with stuff 35:57 and they get arrested in the parking lot. 36:00 I'm thinking to myself, "Don't they know 36:01 that this is the eye on everybody generation?" 36:04 They got, they get to the doorway. 36:09 What's happening? 36:10 All those electronic devices are saying 36:12 they are loaded down. 36:14 But if men can detect like that, 36:18 can God detect even better? 36:22 See, God is not letting anything get by either. 36:25 And here's the reason why? 36:27 Very major reason why? 36:29 God does not... He's not gonna... 36:30 Okay. 36:32 Go to Revelation Chapter 22. 36:34 Okay. 36:36 Okay, here it is. 36:39 Okay. 36:42 Okay. 36:46 Revelation Chapter 22. 36:52 And let's see... 36:56 Let's look for... 37:03 Revelation Chapter 22, 37:05 and we're going to look at... 37:09 Well, the declaration I want to look at 37:11 is just verse 11, very quickly. 37:13 Well, no, verse 14 and 15, all right? 37:15 Okay, here it is. 37:16 Verse 14 and 15, we know verse 14, 37:18 that's in our vernacular, almost naturally, 37:22 "Blessed are those who do His commandments 37:24 that they may have right to the tree of life, 37:26 and may enter through the gates in the city." 37:28 The next verse, what are the first two words? 37:32 "But outside," okay, "are dogs and sorcerers 37:36 and sexually immoral and murderers and idolatrous, 37:39 and whoever loves and practices a lie." 37:41 Now why are they outside? 37:44 Because God ain't letting them in. 37:46 Amen? 37:47 Nothing will enter the New Jerusalem that defiles, 37:51 nothing is coming in. 37:53 So God has His own divine strainer, 37:56 and that strainer is the judgment. 37:59 It's not going to make it through. 38:00 Anybody was raised with mothers that made cakes 38:03 and they always had you have the flour sifter. 38:05 Anybody old enough... 38:07 Help me out, I'm not the only one in here. 38:09 I remember when I was growing up, 38:10 my mother would let me do that. 38:12 She'd get the bag of flour, she said, 38:13 "Now your job is to sift it," 'cause she figured 38:16 I could at least do that without messing it up. 38:19 And I would say, well, it's flour, 38:20 why do you have to sift? 38:22 She said, because there are things in there, 38:23 that unless you sift it, and we had a four tier sifter, 38:27 she said, "Now you just take a cup at a time, 38:29 and you put it in there and you 38:31 and you pull the handle in there, 38:32 four strainers moving like that. 38:34 And I would be surprised, sometimes I find a pebble 38:37 or a little stone and she said now, 38:41 "Would you want that to be in the cake?" 38:42 No. 38:44 She said, "Did you see it?" I said "No." 38:45 She said, "But it's in there." 38:46 God is going to sift us out. 38:48 He's gonna see what's in there. 38:49 So that doesn't get in the final process. 38:51 That's what the judgment is all about. 38:53 Okay, but now let's look at a couple of things here 38:55 that will give us confidence. 38:57 Question number seven. 38:58 So did you write down the answer 38:59 to question number six, 39:01 I think we did. 39:02 Question number seven. 39:03 Question number seven, here it is. 39:06 What is the only confidence 39:08 that we can have in the judgment? 39:16 1 John 1:9. 39:19 You theologians know that one by heart, right? 39:23 Okay, there's so much more of that text I could use, 39:26 but I just want to give you that portion. 39:31 Okay. 39:34 There's also a verse I want to read in a moment here 39:37 in John Chapter 3 verse? 39:40 John 3 verse? 39:43 No. 39:45 That's the one that everybody was taught at birth. 39:47 I want to give you another one. 39:49 Okay. 39:50 I don't know how we all know that one. 39:52 But look at the answer here. 39:54 What confidence can we have? 39:55 Let's read this together. 39:57 Okay. 39:58 "If..." What's the first word?" 40:00 If we confess our sins, 40:04 He is faithful and," what else? 40:07 "Just." 40:08 That's the justice aspect of God. 40:10 "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 40:14 and to cleanse us from," how much? 40:16 "All unrighteousness." 40:20 All unrighteousness. 40:22 See the confidence we have, is if we confess, 40:25 He's faithful and just. 40:27 Now the word there just is a short word. 40:29 He is the justifier. 40:31 He is the justifier. 40:33 He's not just, but He's the one that clears us, 40:36 that's what that means. 40:37 He clears us. 40:39 If you confess, He will clear you. 40:40 He is faithful and just. 40:42 He will not throw your confession back at you. 40:45 If you are, if you confess, He will not only forgive, 40:49 but He will cleanse from all unrighteousness. 40:53 I don't know how permanent that was. 40:55 A not too long ago, 40:57 I became familiar with Oxyclean. 40:59 Anybody heard about Oxyclean before? 41:02 There's some chemicals coming out nowadays 41:03 that are amazing. 41:04 Oxyclean, well, I first became familiar with it 41:07 with the carpet. 41:08 You know, there's an Oxyclean carpet spray 41:11 and they say, "Don't spray very much." 41:12 And I think I look at the stain of the carpet 41:14 I think that's gonna need a whole lot. 41:15 You know we had this idea 41:16 that the more you put the better it is. 41:18 Well, that's not always the case. 41:20 It's so concentrated. 41:22 You see. 41:23 So and they said, "When you spray don't rub, 41:25 just leave it alone and come back in five minutes." 41:28 It's gone. 41:30 Oxyclean really works. 41:32 This is not a commercial. 41:34 But if the sales go up, send me a check. 41:37 I appreciate that. 41:38 But Oxyclean really works. 41:41 If Oxyclean a chemical made by man 41:43 can get rid of a stain, 41:45 how much can the blood of Jesus cleanse us from all sin? 41:49 Amen, somebody? 41:50 That's beautiful, it is divine. 41:53 I won't even connect the word Oxyclean with that, 41:55 it is divine cleansing. 41:57 If we confess, He will cleanse. 42:00 You know, the Bible says 42:01 and I'll go all the way to the very end 42:03 and come back 42:04 because we may not get to that text today, 42:06 but the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us 42:08 from all sin. 42:11 That's how beautiful that is. 42:12 You see, the Lord is not in a process of condemning. 42:14 John 3:17, let's go there. 42:17 Very quickly before we go to the second part 42:19 of chapter seven or question seven. 42:22 John Chapter 3, 42:24 some people get the wrong concept about God 42:27 and I wanna put that back in the proper perspective 42:29 because God has seen 42:31 in some of the drawings during the Dark Ages, 42:33 in medieval drawings, 42:35 God is seen as this terrible guy, 42:37 you know, this guy that just can't wait for you 42:39 to step out line up, "Oh! 42:41 Got you, Celestine. 42:42 You didn't get away this time. 42:44 Ha! Mike, caught you." 42:45 That's not how God is. 42:47 He sees all, but He's a tender, pitying father. 42:50 Matter of fact, He said, "Whom He love," He does what? 42:54 "Chasten." 42:56 I think that's the text my parents read 42:57 when they always said it's gonna hurt me more 42:59 than it's gonna hurt you. 43:00 They love us, so they chasten us, 43:02 they correct us, 43:03 despise not the chastening of the Father. 43:05 Okay, look at John 3:17, just to give you 43:08 the proper perspective of who God is. 43:11 You see, "For God did not send His Son into the world," 43:14 to do what? 43:15 "To condemn the world, 43:18 but that the world through Him," what? 43:20 "Might be saved." 43:22 Look at the reason. Look at verse 18. 43:24 "He who believes in Him is not condemned, 43:28 but he who does not believe," is what? 43:31 "Condemned already." 43:33 Would it be fair to go visit somebody in prison and say, 43:38 "Ha-ha, they got you." 43:41 Would that be fair? 43:43 He'll say, "You didn't have to come visit me. 43:45 I don't need to hear that. 43:46 I know I'm locked up, I know I'm guilty. 43:48 I was looking for some encouragement. 43:51 You put your name on the visiting list 43:53 just to torment me." 43:54 "Hey, never getting out, are you? 43:57 No, that's not how God is. 43:59 He did not come to condemn 44:00 those who are already condemned, 44:02 what we did not understand. 44:03 Go real quickly now to 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. 44:06 Look at what He came to save us from. 44:08 You got to get that whole thing together. 44:10 Why were we condemned? 44:12 Look at why He came, look at the conditions. 44:15 Look at the conditions, He found us in. 44:18 If you find somebody bruised and bleeding, 44:22 even Lord said, "A bruised reed, 44:24 I will not break in a smoking coal. 44:27 I'm not gonna pour water on it, I'm not gonna quench it." 44:29 But 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, let's look at this. 44:33 This is the reason why the Lord came, He saw us. 44:37 Okay, look at 1 Corinthians 15:22. 44:40 This is the condition He found us in. 44:42 If you find a person that's gonna die, 44:45 you don't rub it in by saying, "Can't wait till you die." 44:48 No, you don't do that. 44:50 Look at what the Bible says. 44:52 1 Corinthians 15:22. 44:53 "For as in Adam," how many of us? 44:57 "All die, even so in Christ," how many can be? 45:02 "All shall be," made what? 45:04 "Alive." Who do we find our life in? 45:06 Christ. 45:08 Christ is not the condemner, we were born condemned, 45:11 that's why we must be born again. 45:14 And so the process of being born again, 45:16 accepting the forgiveness of Christ 45:19 is what the escape from judgment is all about. 45:22 That's the good news. That's the confidence. 45:24 Go now to question number seven, 45:26 and go to Hebrews Chapter 4. 45:28 We read verse 13. 45:29 But now we're gonna go back to Hebrews Chapter 4, 45:31 and we're gonna look at verse 15 and 16. 45:34 All right? 45:35 Hebrews Chapter 4, 45:37 we read verse 13, that nothing is hidden. 45:39 But now let's go and see the rest of that text. 45:41 All right? 45:42 We're gonna look at verse 15 and 16 together. 45:46 Hebrews 4:15-16. 45:50 And here it is. 45:51 All right? 45:54 This is so wonderful, 45:56 because a lot of times when people are in high places, 45:58 you have to walk softly before them. 46:00 The Lord is in the highest place. 46:01 Look at what it says. He knows. 46:03 It says, 46:04 "For we do not have a High Priest 46:07 who cannot sympathize with our," what? 46:09 "Weaknesses." 46:11 Does He know about our weaknesses? 46:12 Yes. 46:14 "But was in all points," what's the next word? 46:18 "Tempted as we are," and what's the good news? 46:21 "Yet without sin." 46:23 But look at this, but look at this. 46:25 We need to read this together. 46:26 Are you ready? Here we go. 46:28 "Let us therefore," what? 46:29 "Come boldly before the throne of grace, 46:33 that we may obtain," what? 46:34 "Mercy and find grace to help in time of," what? 46:37 "Need." 46:38 What better time do you need grace 46:40 than in the time of the judgment? 46:42 He says, you need grace and you need what else? 46:45 Mercy. 46:46 Grace and mercy, now why mercy? 46:48 Let me tell you why. 46:49 If you're innocent, you ask for justice. 46:52 If you're guilty, you ask for mercy. 46:54 You don't go before a judge knowing that you're guilty 46:56 and say, "Look, I need justice." 46:59 "We've got the videotape of you committing the crime, 47:00 you want justice, give him life. 47:02 That's justice. 47:04 Make him serve a sentence." 47:06 But when you throw yourself on the mercy of the court, 47:09 he says, "Oh, you will obtain mercy, 47:12 and you will find grace to help in time of need." 47:15 Let's just go ahead and look at that. 47:17 God is merciful and long suffering. 47:20 Is that true about Him? Yes, He is. 47:22 But also how are we saved? 47:24 By grace through faith. 47:26 So mercy and grace is the combination 47:28 that gives us confidence 47:29 that God knows how weak we really are. 47:32 Amen? 47:34 And when you can look at Bible, 47:35 look at Bible characters that we now we admonished, 47:38 we look at Moses, and we say, "What a wonderful man?" 47:42 Well, he killed an Egyptian, 47:44 but we don't remember he killed an Egyptian. 47:46 We look back at Moses as a godly man. 47:48 Am I right? 47:50 Because God forgave him. 47:52 We look at Noah. 47:53 "Oh, he made it through the flood." 47:55 But I won't talk too much about Noah, but he didn't. 48:00 You know, after he made it to the other side, 48:03 some things happen in the family 48:05 that some of you know about. 48:07 But when we mentioned Noah now, 48:09 perhaps is Noah found grace in the eyes of the God's grace. 48:13 David, King David. 48:17 Lady came into his life named Bathsheba. 48:19 Oh, but Jesus forgave him of that. 48:23 He said, "Take not Your Holy Spirit from me, 48:25 restore to me the joy of Your salvation." 48:28 And did Jesus restore? 48:29 Create in me a what kind of heart? 48:31 Clean heart. That's what we need. 48:32 God is not looking for perfect people. 48:35 He's looking for people that know where to find 48:37 that throne of grace. 48:39 Because they, none of us sinless. 48:41 But He said, 48:43 there's a throne of grace is just make a right. 48:45 It's right there. Don't make a left. 48:46 That's not the throne of grace. 48:48 You make a right. 48:49 Father, He's on the right hand of the Father, 48:51 the throne of grace, He said, 48:52 "And if you come there, you will obtain mercy." 48:55 That's what that whole city of refuge concept 48:57 was in the Old Testament. 49:00 When a man knew he was guilty, 49:01 he runs into the city of refuge. 49:03 That's where we sing those songs, 49:05 we can run into, 49:06 we can run into the house and be saved. 49:08 And here's the beauty of that. 49:09 You got to study the city of refuge concept is powerful. 49:12 As long as the priest, 49:15 as long as the priest was alive, 49:20 the sinner who ran into the city of refuge 49:22 had protection. 49:24 Now, you didn't get that because if you got it, 49:28 how long is our priests alive? 49:30 "He ever liveth to make intercession for us." 49:34 Amen. 49:35 So as long as the priest is alive 49:37 and we run into him, 49:38 we can be saved. 49:40 He gives us the right to exist. 49:43 He gives us the right to exist 49:44 because we run into Him and we are saved. 49:49 So we have a High Priest. So what's the answer? 49:51 What is the only confidence 49:52 that we can have in the Day of Judgment? 49:54 He knows our weaknesses. 49:55 What do we obtain? 49:57 Mercy and grace. 49:59 We obtain mercy and grace. 50:02 And when the Bible uses the word boldly, 50:05 when he uses the word boldly, it doesn't mean arrogantly. 50:09 It means come, I'm waiting for you. 50:12 I mean, come run to me. 50:13 My arms are open. 50:15 The prodigal son, He knows what that's about, 50:17 the father looks every day. 50:18 You know, when sinners are away from the Lord, 50:20 He looks every day for them to come back. 50:22 He doesn't say, "I'm done. 50:24 I'm done with you. Forget it." 50:25 God doesn't have a done with you moment. 50:28 He looks for us. 50:29 "Whoever comes to Me, He says, "I will in no wise," do what? 50:32 "I won't get rid of you." 50:34 Let's go to question number eight. 50:36 Go to question number eight. 50:38 It's little warm in here. 50:42 Question number eight. 50:44 Here it is. 50:46 Okay, some more assurance. 50:48 We need more assurance. 50:50 What assurance does the Bible give 50:53 that there will be a judgment? 50:55 We've been talking about all these things. 50:57 What assurances does the Bible give 50:58 that there will be a judgment? 51:01 Let's go to Acts Chapter 17. 51:03 Acts Chapter 17. 51:05 And we're gonna look together at verse 31. 51:08 Acts 17:31. 51:11 All right, okay, here it is. 51:17 I'm turning there, 51:19 are we all there? 51:21 Okay, even if you're not there, 51:23 for those of you tuning in, we have it on the screen. 51:25 All right, here it is. 51:27 Here's the answer. 51:28 The Bible says, 51:30 "Because He has appointed a day 51:34 on which He will do," what? 51:36 "Judge the world in righteousness," how? 51:41 "By the Man whom he has ordained. 51:45 He has given assurance of this to all 51:47 by raising Him from the dead." 51:49 In other words, let's put this in the context. 51:51 Since Jesus has been raised from the dead, 51:54 the judgment is coming. 51:57 The certainty of the judgment is the fact 51:58 that Jesus was raised from the dead, 52:01 that's what the text says. 52:02 "He has given assurance of this to all 52:06 by raising Him from the dead." 52:08 If Jesus wasn't raised, there'll be no judgment. 52:10 That means He's forever locked into the tomb. 52:13 But since He overcame death in the grave, 52:15 the judgment being resurrected and the judgment is evidence 52:19 that the judgment is coming. 52:21 Now, the purpose of the judgment 52:22 is not just because Jesus... 52:24 Well, let me just rephrase that. 52:26 The purpose of the judgment 52:27 is not just to examine our lives, 52:29 but to forever eradicate sin. 52:36 To one day, eternally, banish Satan. 52:39 Amen? 52:40 It's not just to examine our lives, 52:42 He's gonna get rid of the cause. 52:44 The Bible talks about that in Malachi, 52:45 He's gonna destroy both root and branch. 52:48 He's gonna eradicate the possibility of sin 52:51 ever coming up again. 52:53 But the assurance of His resurrection 52:55 is the assurance 52:57 that the certainty the fact of His resurrection 52:59 is the assurance that the judgment is coming. 53:02 So what assurance does the Bible give 53:04 that there will be a resurrection? 53:06 What is the assurance somebody tell me? 53:09 What's the assurance? 53:11 Say it again, the resurrection. 53:15 He has given assurance of this to all 53:16 by raising Him from the dead. 53:18 Jesus was raised, that's the assurance, 53:21 there will be a judgment. 53:23 And that's why it's important 53:24 to be on the right side of that. 53:26 It's important to be on the right side, 53:31 when the judgment hour comes, 53:33 and by the way, it's already here. 53:35 By the way, it's already here. 53:37 Let's go to the next question. 53:39 Are you all ready for number 10? 53:40 Or is it number nine? 53:42 Number nine? 53:43 I know I was going fast ahead of myself. 53:45 Number nine, here's the question. 53:50 What are the two categories represented in the judgment? 53:53 There are only two categories. 53:55 All right? 53:58 And it's not those who are sleeping 53:59 and those who are awake. 54:02 What are the two categories? 54:03 Go with me to 1 Peter 4:17. 54:07 Okay? 54:10 Sorry, sorry. 54:11 Sorry. That's okay. 54:13 You guys are awake. 54:15 Ecclesiastes 3:17. 54:17 I went ahead of myself on my iPad here, 54:20 but it's right on my laptop. 54:21 So we're all on the same page together. 54:24 Can you all forgive me? 54:26 I don't know. 54:27 I don't know. 54:29 Okay, here we go. 54:32 Okay, Ecclesiastes 3:17, it's in the lesson correctly. 54:37 Okay. 54:39 Here we are. Here we are. 54:40 Here's the answer. 54:41 And I left it out on the text, but that's okay. 54:43 Here's the answer, Ecclesiastes 3:17. 54:46 And if you have your Bible, 54:47 you put the text in the output of book 54:49 but I didn't put the text. 54:51 But here it is. 54:52 "I said in my heart, 'God shall judge the," who? 54:56 "Righteous and wicked, 54:58 for there is a time there 55:00 for every purpose and for every work.'" 55:03 What two categories are there gonna be in the judgment? 55:07 The righteous and the wicked. 55:10 There's no third category. 55:12 So here's the point that's being made. 55:13 If we are not righteous that is living in Christ, 55:17 then we are only in one other category. 55:19 I heard a guy said, 55:20 "You know, hey, I don't hurt anybody. 55:23 I don't steal anything. 55:25 I contribute to the neighborhood programs, 55:28 I donate to all the charities. 55:31 I have never stolen anything, haven't lied about anything." 55:35 You know, 55:36 if salvation was based on all the things we didn't do, 55:39 then hey, we could all work our way 55:41 into the graces of God. 55:43 But what I mentioned a moment ago 55:44 is very important to understand. 55:46 We were all born alienated from God. 55:49 We were all born in a broken condition. 55:50 We were all born in sin, and shape, and in iniquity. 55:54 We were all born with a character and a position 55:57 that cannot enter the kingdom of God. 56:00 That's what the Bible meant when it says, 56:02 "By flesh and blood cannot enter 56:03 the kingdom of heaven." 56:05 All right? 56:06 So that's why the Bible says we must be born again. 56:10 The first birth is an assurance of condemnation. 56:13 But the second birth or the new birth 56:15 is the assurance 56:17 that we can stand right before God 56:19 in His righteousness. 56:21 The last one. 56:22 I think we could squeeze this in, 56:23 question number 10. 56:25 Question number 10. 56:26 According to the Bible, 56:27 where does the judgment begin? 56:32 I know you guys are smart enough 56:34 to know this one. 56:35 So I'll save time and just turn to it. 56:37 Are you ready? 56:38 1 Peter 4:17. 56:41 "For the time has come for judgment to begin," where? 56:46 "At the house of God, follow, 56:49 and if it begins with us," when? 56:52 "First, what will be the end of those 56:55 who do not obey the gospel of God?" 56:59 Now, I'd like to go to verse 18. 57:00 I leave that for next week, but here's the point. 57:03 Where does the judgment begin? 57:05 It begins with us. 57:07 Why does it begin with us? 57:08 Because we claim to have a connection, 57:10 as I said earlier in one of the examples I used, 57:13 if something is missing in the house, 57:15 Marlene is gonna begin with her kids. 57:17 Right? 57:19 Corbine, have you seen it? Nori, have you seen that? 57:21 Well, I'm not gonna call your sisters 57:22 they were at school. 57:24 Sure they didn't have anything to do with it." 57:25 You sure, you didn't. I didn't see. 57:27 Well then, David, did you find? 57:29 No, but then maybe I just don't know where it is. 57:31 Right? 57:32 But you go through those who are in the house. 57:34 If we claim to be in the house of the Lord, 57:37 the judgment begins by examining the lives of those 57:41 who claim to be connected to the man Christ Jesus. 57:45 Are you His children, 57:47 as Pastor CD Brooks said his father told him, 57:49 I only have a good name, I can't give you money. 57:51 I'm gonna give you a good name. 57:53 Protect that name. 57:55 The Lord has given us a good name. 57:57 He calls on us to protect that name. 57:59 If it doesn't make sense, friends, 58:00 continue studying and one day 58:02 it will come into A Sharper Focus. 58:04 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-06-20