Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CUTJ
Program Code: CUTJ000005
|
00:34 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
00:35 Father in Heaven, what a joy it is to be in Your presence. 00:40 What an awesome privilege to gather together as Your people 00:45 to sing praises to Your name, to speak with You in prayer, 00:50 and to hear Your voice speaking to us through 00:54 the study of Your Holy Word. 00:55 We ask, Father that as we open that Word this morning, 00:59 that Your Holy Spirit will be with us 01:01 to instruct us, and to guide us. 01:03 And we thank You, Father, for hearing, 01:06 and for answering our prayer, for we ask it in the precious 01:09 name of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Amen. 01:14 I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the 01:18 book of Revelation 6, Revelation 6, and I would like to begin 01:26 reading at verse 15. 01:30 We find here a description of the second coming of Jesus 01:35 in power and glory to this earth. 01:40 And I want you to notice that the passage ends by asking 01:45 a very important question. 01:48 I'm reading, once again, from Revelation 6:15. 01:53 It says there: And the kings of the earth, the great men, 01:59 the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, 02:04 every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in the caves 02:10 and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the 02:13 mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him 02:19 who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 02:24 And now comes the question: For the great day of His wrath 02:29 has come; and who shall be able to stand? 02:34 Notice that immediately following the description of the 02:39 coming of Jesus in power and glory, when multitudes on planet 02:44 Earth are hiding in the caves, and they're begging for the 02:47 rocks to fall upon them, the question is asked, 02:51 The great day of His wrath is come; 02:54 and who shall be able to stand? 02:58 Now where would you expect to find the 03:00 answer to this question? 03:02 I think the best place to look for it would be in the 03:06 immediately succeeding context. 03:09 When this awesome event takes place, who is going to stand? 03:14 The answer is found in the very next chapter, 03:18 chapter 7, and verses 1 to 4. It says there: 04:06 And then in the succeeding verses you have a list of those 04:13 who belong to the 144,000, tribe by tribe of Israel. 04:19 In other words, those only who are sealed with the seal of the 04:25 living God will be able to stand when the winds of strife are 04:30 released, when Jesus comes once again to this earth. 04:35 Now the Bible has a lot to say about this special group 04:40 that will be alive, and will stand when Jesus comes. 04:44 Revelation 7 is not the only place where the 04:49 144,000 are mentioned. 04:51 Now somebody might be wondering, Who is this 04:55 group of the 144,000? 04:57 When is this group going to live? 05:00 The Bible gives us a very important hint as to when this 05:06 group is going to live on planet Earth. 05:09 We've already noticed one hint, and it is than when Jesus comes 05:13 they are going to be able to stand, which seems to indicate 05:17 that they are going to be alive when Jesus comes. 05:20 If they were dead they wouldn't have to stand. 05:22 But there's a passage in Scripture, which is explicit 05:26 about when these individuals are going to live. 05:29 The fact is they are those who will be alive when Jesus comes. 05:34 Notice Revelation 15, and I would like to begin reading 05:39 at verse 2, Revelation 15:2. 05:43 It speaks about this same group: the 144,000, who will be able 05:48 to stand when Jesus comes. 05:50 It says there in Revelation 15:2, And I saw something like 05:56 a sea of glass mingled with fire:... 06:00 And now here comes the key. 06:02 ...and those who have the victory over the beast, 06:07 over his image, and over his mark, and over the number 06:14 of his name, standing on the sea of glass, 06:17 having harps of God. 06:20 They sing the song of Moses the servant of God, 06:24 and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous 06:28 are Your works, Lord God Almighty. 06:32 Just and true are Your ways, O King of saints. 06:37 This passage makes it very clear that this select group is going 06:43 to live during the final trials on planet Earth. 06:48 You say, How do we know that? 06:49 Because we're told that they gained the victory 06:52 over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, 06:57 and over the number of his name. 06:59 Now we know from Revelation 13 that this happens 07:04 at the very end of time. 07:06 The trial over the mark of the beast takes place in the closing 07:10 scenes of the history of this world. 07:13 And so we know that the 144,000 are going to stand, 07:18 and are going to remain firm when Jesus comes. 07:22 They will be victorious in the struggle with the beast, 07:26 and with the image to the beast, which is placed by the land 07:30 beast of Revelation 13. 07:32 They will resist the mark of the beast, 07:34 and the number of the beast. 07:36 In other words, this is the last generation; those who will be 07:40 alive when Jesus comes. 07:42 They are the ones which are spoken of of the Apostle Paul 07:45 when he says, Then those who are alive and remain, 07:49 shall be caught up with them in the clouds to meet 07:53 the Lord in the air. 07:54 Now there's another passage in the book of Revelation, 07:58 which describes this group of the 144,000. 08:02 By the way, we're not dealing with literal Israel here. 08:06 We are dealing with spiritual Israel. 08:08 In other words, we're not dealing with literal Israelites, 08:11 and we're not dealing with a literal number. 08:13 The Apostle Paul made it clear that a Jew is the one who is one 08:18 inwardly, and circumcision is the circumcision of the heart. 08:23 The Apostle Paul made it clear that if we are Christ's, 08:27 then we are Abraham's seed. 08:29 In other words, Scripture makes it very clear that the end time 08:32 generation is not going to be composed of literal Israelites, 08:36 but rather spiritual Israelites, who have accepted Jesus Christ 08:41 as Savior and Lord. 08:43 Now there's another passage in Revelation which describes this 08:47 group who will be alive when Jesus comes. 08:50 It's found in Revelation 14:1-5. 08:54 And before we read this passage, allow me to share with you that 08:59 the passage that we read in Revelation 7 emphasizes the 09:03 sealing of the 144,000. 09:06 In other words, the winds of strife are about to be released. 09:09 When they're released you have the tribulation period 09:13 culminating with the second coming of Jesus Christ. 09:16 And the Bible tells us that before the winds are let go, 09:20 before the strife of the time of trouble comes, and the coming of 09:23 Jesus takes place, they are going to be sealed to protect 09:27 them in the midst of the disasters that are going to 09:31 happen in this world, and to prepare them to 09:33 stand when Jesus comes. 09:35 So in Revelation 7 the emphasis is upon the sealing of this 09:40 group so that they can go through the tribulation 09:43 protected by God, and they can stand when Jesus comes. 09:47 But the passage in Revelation 14 emphasizes another dimension 09:52 of this special group. 09:53 It deals with the character of the 144,000, 09:58 the character of these end time Israelites 10:01 who will be alive when Jesus comes. 10:04 Let's read Revelation 14, and beginning with verse 1. 10:08 It says there: 10:17 I want you to remember that; standing on Mount Zion. 10:29 Now in Scripture a name is an indication of the character, 10:34 which means that this group, having the seal of God, 10:38 or the name of God on their forehead, means that they have 10:42 the character of God in their lives. 10:45 Notice verse 2. And I heard a voice from heaven like the 11:13 And now notice the characteristics. 11:20 By the way, don't worry, it doesn't mean that 11:23 you were never married. 11:25 You know, marriage does not defile you if you're 11:28 married biblically. 11:30 When it says that they were not defiled with women, 11:33 it means that they did not commit spiritual adultery 11:36 with the apostate churches which are symbolized as a woman, 11:41 and her daughters in Revelation 17. 11:43 In other words, they broke their relationship, their marriage 11:47 relationship with Christ, and they had these apostate churches 11:52 called Babylon in Revelation, and they had 11:54 relationships with them. 11:56 And so it's saying here that they did not assimilate the 12:00 teachings and practices of these women, 12:04 or of these apostate churches. 12:07 So it says, once again in verse 4, These are the ones who were 12:12 not defiled with women; for they are virgins. 12:22 And then notice, it says: 12:31 And now comes a very key characteristic. 12:39 The Greek word is pseudo, which means lie. In other words: 12:55 What a character manifestation. 12:57 They remain pure in their relationship with Jesus. 13:01 They did not assimilate the teachings and practices of 13:05 the apostate churches, which are spoken of in the 13:08 book of Revelation. 13:09 They follow the Lamb wherever the Lamb goes. 13:14 They have the name, or the character of God 13:17 on their foreheads. 13:18 In other words, they have a sterling character, 13:20 a character which reflects that of Jesus Christ. 13:24 Now go with me to Psalm 15 where this same group is mentioned, 13:29 now not by number, but by characteristics. 13:33 Did you notice that in Revelation 14 the 144,000 are 13:39 standing on Mount Zion, the mountain of the 13:42 Lord with the Lamb? 13:43 Now notice Psalm 15, and I would like to read 13:48 the first few verses. 13:50 Psalm 15, and I would like to read through verse 5. 13:56 Psalm 15:5. It says this: Lord,... Notice the question. 14:09 See, it starts with a question, just like we 14:12 noticed in Revelation 6. 14:14 Who will be able to stand? 14:16 Those who stand will stand where? on Mount Zion, 14:19 according to Revelation 14. 14:21 Here the question is asked, Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 14:25 Notice the answer, the character manifestation. 14:38 Remember that the 144,000 had no lie on their lips? It says: 15:05 In other words, he keeps his word and does not change. 15:12 In other words, he doesn't take advantage of people by charging 15:15 a huge amount of interest. 15:27 Does this have any relationship with the question, 15:31 Who shall be able to stand? 15:32 It ends by saying, He shall not be moved. 15:36 You'll notice the question begins with asking, 15:38 Who will stand on the holy hill? 15:41 And the answer is those who have these character manifestations 15:46 that are referred to here in Psalm 15. 15:50 You know folks, soon Jesus is going to come. 15:54 And we've taught that for decades. 15:58 In the history of the Adventist church, for over 160 years, 16:02 we've been teaching that Jesus is coming soon. 16:05 But the question is, by our lifestyle do we really believe 16:09 that Jesus is coming soon? 16:11 By the way that we talk, by the way we act, by the way that we 16:15 administrate our money, by the way in which we treat our 16:18 neighbor, are we really revealing that we are expecting 16:21 Jesus to come soon in power and glory? 16:24 Folks we are going to have to live in the midst of a consuming 16:29 fire, according to Scripture. 16:30 Because God is a consuming fire. 16:33 And unless the Holy Spirit comes now and consumes sin in our 16:37 lives, we will be consumed by the fire when Jesus comes. 16:41 In fact, go with me to one of my favorite passages of Scripture, 16:45 Isaiah 33, Isaiah 33, and I want to begin reading at 16:51 Verse 12, Isaiah 33:12. 16:53 You know, many churches teach that the wicked are going to 16:56 burn in the fires of hell forever. 16:58 They're going to writhe, and they're going to turn, 17:00 and they're going to scream out in anguish and in pain, 17:02 because they're going to be burning in the 17:04 flames forever and ever. 17:05 Well, I have news for you, it's not the wicked who are 17:08 going to be in the flames forever, it's the righteous 17:11 who are going to be in the flames forever. 17:12 You say, Now what kind of heresy is this? 17:15 Well, let's allow the Bible to tell us. 17:19 Isaiah 33, and let's read beginning at verse 12. 17:24 Speaking, first of all about the wicked, it says: 17:45 Notice, not the sinners among the Philistines, 17:47 and the Babylonians, and the Egyptians. It says: 17:56 And now notice two questions. 18:09 How would you answer that question? 18:11 Most churches would say, The wicked. 18:14 But notice the answer in verse 15. 18:22 Notice again the idea of the mouth; no lie in the mouth, 18:26 and the actions. It says: 18:48 So you shut your ears and your eyes from seeing evil, and from 18:53 hearing evil, according to this passage. Notice verse 16. 19:00 That's Mount Zion, the high place of the earth 19:03 according to Scripture. 19:11 And then it says in Verse 17: 19:22 By the way, that is Heaven, in case you were wondering. 19:26 So once again, the idea of living with the devouring fire, 19:31 the idea of living with God, who is a consuming fire, 19:35 is connected with the special ethical lifestyle, 19:40 which we must have in order to be ready for Jesus to come, 19:44 in order to stand, according to Scripture. 19:47 Are we really dedicating time to working on our character? 19:55 Are we dedicating time to Jesus, so that Jesus can come 19:59 and cleanse us, and purify us from all sin, so that when the 20:04 tribulation comes, so that when Jesus comes, we will be able 20:08 not to hide in the caves and cry for the rocks to fall upon us, 20:12 but to say, Lo this is our God, we have waited for Him, 20:17 and He will save us. 20:19 I pray to the Lord that it will be the second and not the first. 20:23 Now go with me to the book of Joel, where you have the same 20:26 idea all over again. 20:28 You see, the Bible is full of the idea that we need to 20:31 prepare, in a special way, to stand when Jesus comes. 20:36 You know, we have in the New Testament several texts. 20:39 We have Hebrews 12 where it says that we need to live in 20:43 peace with everyone, and we need to develop sanctification, 20:46 without which no one will see the Lord. 20:49 Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. 20:53 John says anybody who has this hope in him of the coming of 20:58 Jesus must purify himself, even as He is pure. 21:02 In other words, the New Testament is full of the idea 21:05 that there's a special preparation that needs to take 21:08 place before Jesus comes. 21:10 There's a special refining of the character 21:12 that needs to take place. 21:14 You know, most churches will tell you, You know, just accept 21:17 Jesus Christ and you will be saved; you and your house. 21:20 They'll say, You know, I'm not perfect; I'm just forgiven. 21:25 You know, that a recipe for failure, if you ask me. 21:28 Because it's an excuse to not live a life in harmony 21:32 with the life of Jesus. 21:34 You know, I've quoted that verse many, many times, 21:37 I can do almost all things through Christ, 21:39 who strengthens me. 21:40 You know, I like to quote it that way, because that way I 21:44 notice who's awake and who isn't. 21:45 What does the text say? 21:48 I can do all things except overcome sin, through Christ 21:52 who strengthens me. 21:54 There is no parenthetical statement there folks. 21:56 And people say, Well, I have a weak human nature. 22:00 You know, if we're going to sin until Jesus comes, 22:03 because we're so weak, God understands that we have 22:06 a carnal nature; we have a sinful nature. 22:08 So are you telling me that God isn't powerful enough 22:11 for you to gain the victory over your carnal nature? 22:13 You're actually limiting the power of God by saying that God 22:18 cannot give us power to overcome sin, and to have a clean life 22:22 in order to stand when Jesus comes. 22:24 Now let's go to the book of Joel, the book of Joel, 22:28 and I want to read, beginning at chapter 2, and verse 1. 22:33 Joel 2:1. That's one of those minor prophets, you know, 22:38 that takes awhile to find in your Bible. 22:41 And so it's taking me a little longer than usual. 22:44 I'm here at Joel 2, and I want to read at verse 1. 22:48 And what I want you to notice here, folks, is that in Joel 2, 22:52 we find the description of the second coming of Christ. 22:56 And we're going to see that this passage ends at the same 22:59 point as Revelation 6. 23:01 It's the same event, but it's described in different language. 23:05 Notice Joel 2:1. Blow the trumpet in Zion,... 23:12 By the way, is Jesus when He comes, 23:15 is He going to blow the trumpet? 23:16 Yes, He will come with the trump of God: 1 Corinthians 15, 23:21 and 1 Thessalonians 4. 23:39 Notice, the day of the Lord is is the same as 23:41 the day of His wrath in Revelation 6. It says: 24:08 A fire... By the way, this is talking about Jesus coming with 24:12 the hosts of heaven. 24:13 You can find another description of it in Revelation 19, 24:16 beginning with verse 11. 24:18 It speaks about Jesus coming on a white horse, 24:20 and behind Him are the armies of Heaven. 24:23 And so it continues saying here in verse 3: 24:41 In other words, once they go by, the earth is a wilderness. 24:44 The earth is desolate. 24:46 Is that what's going to happen when Jesus comes to the earth? 24:49 Is the earth going to be a desolate wilderness? Absolutely. 24:52 Verse 3, the last part. 24:55 Surely nothing shall escape them. 25:00 See, there's the connection with Revelation 19. 25:15 The Bible says that Jesus will come with fire. 25:21 Coming for the battle of Armageddon 25:23 according to Revelation. 25:31 Does that sound similar to what we read in Revelation 6, 25:34 people hiding in the caves, and crying for the rocks 25:37 to fall upon them? Absolutely. Notice verse 7. 25:58 In other words, there is no weapon that can do them damage. 26:02 This is a supernatural army, in other words. Verse 9. 26:14 Now notice this. This isn't some local historical event. It says: 26:30 You know, there's a few verses right before Revelation 6:15 26:34 that speak about signs in the sun, 26:36 and the moon, and in the stars. 26:38 Verses 13-14, which we didn't read as we began our study. 26:42 There's no doubt that this passage is describing the same 26:46 event as Revelation 6. 26:48 Notice once again verse 10. 26:52 The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; 26:56 the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars 26:59 diminish their brightness. And now notice: 27:06 Oh, so this is the Lord's army. 27:08 This isn't any human army. 27:19 And now notice: 27:25 And what's the question? 27:30 Is this the same question that we found in Revelation 6? 27:34 Absolutely. Both passages are describing the coming of Jesus. 27:39 And the question is asked, Who will be able to stand 27:43 when this day comes? 27:45 Well, the fact is where would you expect to find the answer 27:48 to this question in the book of Joel? 27:50 How about verse 12? 27:52 The very next verse. 27:54 You see, in Revelation 7 you have the answer. 27:57 It speaks about the sealing of the 144,000. 28:00 It doesn't tell us much about their character other than 28:03 the winds are being held back so that these individuals can be 28:07 sealed on their foreheads. 28:08 Then the winds are going to be released, and a cataclysm is 28:12 going to take place on planet Earth, which culminates with 28:15 the second coming of Jesus. 28:16 But here in Joel 2 we have additional details that we don't 28:21 have in Revelation. 28:23 We are told how to prepare to stand in this 28:28 great day of wrath. 28:29 Let's go back to Joel 2, and let's read 28:32 beginning with verse 12. 28:37 In other words, in the light of what I've spoken, 28:40 in the light of what I've said. 28:45 What do we need to do? 28:52 By the way, do you know that when Jesus has our 28:55 heart He has everything? 28:57 From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 29:01 So if He has your heart, you have no 29:02 problems with your mouth. 29:03 Where your treasure is, there will your heart be. 29:07 If He has your heart, the money will come pouring 29:10 out of your pockets, and the church budget 29:13 will never be behind. 29:15 Maybe we have a heart problem. 29:18 Maybe we need to call the heavenly Cardiologist 29:22 to perform a little bit of heart surgery here in our church. 29:27 Don't you think? No, I don't see or hear very many Amen's. 29:31 Everybody is ready. 29:33 Notice verse 12 again. 29:35 Now therefore, says the Lord, turn to me with all your heart, 29:39 ...Notice... with fasting,... 29:42 You say, Well, are we supposed to fast since 1844? 29:47 as we're preparing for the coming of Jesus? 29:49 as we're preparing for the tribulation? No. 29:51 Do you know, fasting has two dimensions 29:53 according to Scripture. 29:54 1. Isaiah 58, which I won't go to, says that fasting means 30:01 helping those individuals who are hungry, 30:04 and thirsty, and in need. 30:06 It means depriving ourselves of food and drink, 30:10 to give food and drink to those who don't have it. 30:12 In other words, it's speaking about practical piety, 30:17 practical Godliness. 30:19 Also the servant of the Lord has told us that the true fast, 30:23 which God approves, is partaking of the food, healthy food, 30:29 fruits and vegetables, which God has made for our enjoyment. 30:33 In other words, fasting means partaking of the foods that God 30:37 has made for our spiritual health. 30:40 In other words, it says here very clearly, 30:43 because the condition of our body has a lot to do with the 30:46 condition of our mind, and the condition of our mind has to do 30:50 with our communication with God. 30:52 Once again, it says: with fasting,... With what? 30:56 ...with weeping, and with mourning. 30:59 You know, one thing I cannot understand these days is that 31:02 everybody says that in the worship service today 31:05 you have to be jumping, and you have to be raising your 31:08 hands, and praising the Lord, and having a jolly good time. 31:11 Now there's nothing wrong with singing in the worship service. 31:15 We had some wonderful singing today in the worship service. 31:17 There's nothing wrong with praising the Lord, but this is a 31:20 time to afflict the soul. 31:23 This is a time to examine our life to see if our life is in 31:27 harmony with the beautiful, glorious 31:30 character of Jesus Christ. 31:31 Notice what it continues saying. 31:34 It says: with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning:... 31:39 And then it says in verse 13: 31:48 In other words, don't have a superficial response to the 31:53 Lord of rending the garments, ripping your clothes. 31:56 He says you need to rip your heart. 32:19 And now notice verse 15. 32:24 This is speaking about the trumpet which is blown on 32:26 the feast of trumpets, announcing the day of atonement. 32:34 Because on the day of atonement there was fasting. 32:38 On the day of atonement everybody was required 32:41 to come and assemble. 32:46 This was to be done in preparation for 32:48 the day of atonement. 32:55 In other words, even the children are to be brought 32:58 on the day of atonement. 32:59 And listen newly weds, if there are any. 33:09 In other words, you have to come and gather together 33:11 for the day of atonement, no matter who you are. 33:15 And then it says, in verse 17, and now the 33:18 Lord is speaking to me. 33:44 That's what needs to be happening now 33:46 among God's people. 33:47 I don't know whether many of you have perhaps seen on the 33:51 Internet a special, I hate to call it a program, 33:56 but let's do, a program called Operation Global Rain. 34:00 This was begun by two of our ministers here in the 34:05 Central California Conference, and the idea is that not only 34:08 the churches in Central California Conference, 34:11 but the churches all over the world... 34:13 That's why it's called Global Rain. 34:14 ...are to pray for the outpouring of God's 34:18 Holy Spirit without measure; the outpouring of the 34:21 latter rain with power. 34:23 But do you know that the Bible says that there's a preparation 34:26 that needs to take place in order to 34:28 receive the latter rain? 34:30 It's not only a matter of praying. 34:32 It's a matter of dedicating time to Jesus, contemplating Jesus, 34:37 spending time in His Word, spending time witnessing, 34:41 investing our means, our strength, putting everything 34:44 on the altar of sacrifice. 34:46 And then when we have been emptied of self, 34:49 Jesus will be glad to come in and occupy the vacuum 34:54 which has been left in our heart. 34:55 In other words, the Holy Spirit will not occupy half a heart. 34:59 Jesus is not satisfied with half of our heart. 35:02 Let me ask you, What happens if in your garden half of 35:04 your garden has weeds, and half of the garden is okay? 35:10 You know, eventually the weeds will what? 35:12 The weeds will take over your garden. 35:14 And so it is with the heart. 35:16 That's why constantly in the Bible God says that we're 35:19 supposed to give Him our whole heart, the entire heart. 35:23 And, as I mentioned before, when we give Him our heart, 35:26 He has everything. 35:27 Because the heart is the center of decisions, 35:31 the center of will, the center of choices. 35:34 In other words, when He sits on the throne of the heart, 35:37 Jesus, by my permission, is the One who is making the decisions. 35:42 So God is expecting His people in this day and age to prepare 35:50 for that awesome event, which has been described as the 35:54 judgment of the living. 35:56 You know, it's an awesome thing to think that you're going to be 35:59 judged while you're dead, because your case is closed. 36:04 But imagine what it's going to be like with those who will be 36:08 judged from among the living. 36:12 Allow me to read you a statement, 36:13 a very significant statement from the Spirit of Prophecy. 36:16 And some people criticize this statement. 36:18 They say, Oh, no, that could never happen. 36:21 You know, we have this defeatist attitude, don't we, 36:24 about overcoming sin? 36:25 It's because we don't want to make the 36:26 sacrifice to overcome sin. 36:28 You see, it's a struggle. 36:30 You say, Oh no, it's a piece of cake! 36:32 Just give your life to Jesus, and everything will pan out. 36:34 Don't you think so! 36:36 It's a struggle. The Bible describes that it's a 36:39 struggle to give up self. 36:40 It's a struggle to give up my desires, and my will. 36:46 It's a struggle to say, Your will be done 36:48 rather than my will. 36:49 I want you to notice this statement. 36:51 It's an awesome statement. 36:53 For those who are going to be judged alive, folks, 36:56 we know from the Spirit of Prophecy that we will have to 36:59 live during the time of the tribulation 37:01 without an intercessor. Say, Wow! 37:06 Now listen up! I'm not trying to scare you. 37:08 We're to live without an intercessor, but we will not 37:13 live without a protector. 37:16 See, some preachers in the Adventist church have given 37:18 the idea that when probation closes Jesus is gone, 37:22 and we're left here by ourselves. 37:24 No, no, the presence of Jesus and His Spirit will be with us, 37:29 but there will be no more intercession for sin, 37:32 because the sanctuary service will be closed. 37:36 Those awesome words will have been pronounced; 37:38 He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. 37:41 He who is unrighteous, let him be unrighteous still. 37:45 He who is holy, let him be holy still. 37:47 He who is righteous, let him be righteous still. 37:50 The door will have closed. 37:52 The sanctuary service will be finished. 37:55 Jesus will have finished not only His intercessory 37:58 ministry, but the judgment. 38:00 And now will be the time to come and claim His own. 38:04 Notice this powerful statement, Great Controversy, page 623. 38:10 The servant of the Lord says this: Now... When? Tomorrow? 38:17 No, now... While our great high priest is making the atonement 38:24 for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. 38:31 Perfect. Nobody can be perfect. 38:33 Now I realize that we're not going to have sinless flesh 38:36 before Jesus comes to transform this body into the likeness 38:39 of His glorious body. 38:41 I'm not talking about holy flesh. 38:43 I'm talking about a holy character. 38:45 We will still have sinful flesh, but a holy 38:49 character in sinful flesh. 38:51 This is the marvel of the gospel. 38:53 The gospel not only forgives, the gospel cleanses, 38:56 the gospel perfects, the gospel gives victory over sin 39:02 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 39:03 She continues saying, notice this: Not even by a thought 39:10 could our Savior be brought to yield to the 39:14 power of temptation. 39:16 Not even by a thought did Jesus yield to temptation. 39:20 Then she speaks about us. 39:21 She says, Satan finds in human hearts some point 39:25 where he can gain a foothold. 39:27 Some sinful desire is cherished by means of which his 39:31 temptations assert their power. 39:33 Notice, some sinful desire is cherished... There's the key. 39:38 ...by means of which his temptations assert their power. 39:41 See, you cherish sin, and then he tempts you, and as a result 39:45 his temptations gain a foothold. 39:48 She continues saying, but Christ declared of Himself: 39:52 The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me. 39:58 Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable 40:03 him to gain the victory. 40:06 He had kept His Father's commandments, 40:08 and there was no sin in Him that Satan could 40:13 use to his advantage. 40:16 And she's talking about cherished sin. 40:17 There was no cherished sin there through which Satan could 40:21 use to take advantage. 40:23 And then she says this. 40:24 This is awesome. She says: This is the condition in which 40:28 those who must be found who shall stand 40:32 in the time of trouble. 40:34 Not even by a sinful thought. 40:41 And you say, Pastor this is impossible. 40:43 And you're right. For human beings this is impossible. 40:48 It is impossible to do good with our sinful heart 40:53 that cherishes sin. 40:55 We cannot gain the victory. 40:57 With our sinful human nature unaided, we are attempting an 41:02 impossibility to live righteously. 41:05 However, once we have been born again, and we have invited 41:11 Jesus to come into our hearts, and day to day we spend time 41:16 with Jesus, Jesus begins the process of expelling 41:20 sin from our hearts. 41:23 And His will is merged with our will, His choice is merged with 41:32 our choice, His life is merged with our life, 41:36 and suddenly we're not living our life; 41:39 He's living His life in us. 41:42 But we have to, folks, meet the conditions. 41:48 And, unfortunately, we're not meeting the conditions. 41:51 Let's just do an inventory of our lives. 41:56 What did we dedicate most of our time to this last week? 42:00 To our job? That's okay. 42:02 Nothing wrong with our job. 42:04 Recreation? Television? 42:09 How much of our time that we dedicate, or yeah we say, 42:16 our time; it's really God's time. 42:17 How much of our time did we dedicate to study the Bible? 42:24 How much of our time did we dedicate 42:28 to come to prayer meeting? 42:29 How much of our time did we dedicate to speak 42:35 to others about Jesus? 42:38 How much of our time did we dedicate to just behold the 42:42 beauty of Jesus in contemplation, 42:44 just reflecting upon His beauty? 42:47 You know, if you're like me, the amount of time that we dedicated 42:52 to the Lord is practically nothing, and we expect to 42:58 reflect the character of Jesus without spending time with Him? 43:02 You know, Scripture makes it very clear how this awesome goal 43:08 that God gives us is made possible. 43:10 In 2 Corinthians 3, if you go with me there, 43:14 this is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. 43:16 2 Corinthians 3:18, we have the secret, 2 Corinthians 3:18. 43:27 Here the Apostle Paul is speaking about 43:29 the process of sanctification, and he says this: 43:32 But we all, with unveiled face beholding, as in a mirror 43:41 the glory of the Lord,... 43:44 What are we beholding with unveiled face? 43:47 ...the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same 43:54 image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 44:00 How are we transformed into the same image of Jesus? 44:04 By beholding we become changed. 44:10 In other words, we reflect in our life that which we dedicate 44:15 our time and our efforts to. 44:18 We are what we allow to enter through our five senses. 44:24 The five senses are the avenues to the soul, 44:27 and what comes in makes us what we are. 44:30 As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. 44:36 By the way, the word that is used here for transformed is 44:42 the Greek word metamorphosis. 44:46 Do you know what a metamorphosis is? 44:49 It's when a pollywog becomes a frog. 44:54 Now you explain that one to me. 44:57 Does a frog look like a pollywog? No. 45:01 It's when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. 45:07 Let me ask you, how much do a butterfly and a 45:11 caterpillar look alike? Not at all. 45:13 It is a total, and radical transformation that takes place. 45:19 That's what this is talking about. 45:22 As we behold Jesus, we are transformed. 45:27 We are changed from glory to glory into the same image. 45:33 Now go with me to Acts 3:19, Acts 3:19. 45:45 You see what Jesus is doing today folks, 45:47 Jesus is forgiving sin, isn't he? 45:53 Isn't that what happened in the sanctuary every day? 45:56 It's called the daily service. 45:58 People would come. 45:59 They would place their hand on the head of the lamb. 46:01 Then they would slay the lamb. 46:02 The blood was taken into the sanctuary. 46:04 That way sin was placed in the sanctuary. 46:06 The person could go home. 46:07 He was cleansed from his sin. 46:09 He could say, Praise the Lord, I'm free! 46:13 But once a year those sins that had entered the sanctuary needed 46:17 to be blotted out from the sanctuary. 46:19 Not from the life, because they'd been taken from the life 46:22 when the individual confessed the sin. 46:23 The sins were forgiven. 46:25 The individual didn't have to say, Am I forgiven? 46:27 Am I not forgiven? No. 46:30 The Bible tells us, If we confess our sins, He is faithful 46:34 and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us 46:36 from all unrighteousness. 46:37 And so the daily service illustrates forgiveness, 46:42 remission of sin, if you please. 46:45 But on the Day of Atonement, the sanctuary was cleansed from 46:50 the presence of sin. 46:51 The sins in the sanctuary were blotted out. 46:54 Now notice the book of Acts. 46:57 Let's go to the book of Acts, and I want you to notice 47:01 something very interesting here. 47:02 Acts, first of all chapter 2, and verse 38, Acts 2:38. 47:08 And then we'll go to chapter 3. 47:10 Acts 2:38 says: Then Peter said to them, Repent, 47:18 and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus 47:23 Christ for what? for the remission of sins. 47:28 By the way, that same word is aphesis in Greek. 47:31 It's translated many times in the New Testament forgiveness. 47:35 Remission means forgiveness. 47:36 So it says:... for the remission of sins, and you shall receive 47:40 the gift of the Holy Spirit. 47:43 So Peter preached that the people, when they repented, 47:47 they would receive what? remission, 47:49 or forgiveness of sins. 47:51 But do you know that God wants to do more than just 47:54 remit, or forgive sins? 47:55 The day is coming when He is going to want to blot out 47:59 sin from the sanctuary. 48:01 And in order to blot it out there, it has to be 48:04 blotted out from here. 48:06 He's never going to blot out anything in heaven that has not 48:11 been blotted out on earth. 48:13 The earthly temple has to be cleansed, if the heavenly temple 48:18 is going to be cleansed from the record of sin. 48:21 Go with me to Acts 3 now, and notice 48:24 something very interesting. 48:25 Acts 3:19, Acts 3:19, and this verse merits a total sermon 48:36 just on this one verse. 48:37 And maybe I'll do that some day, because there's several steps 48:40 here that are very important. Here Peter says: 48:52 Do you know what converted means? 48:54 It means to turn around and go in the opposite direction. 48:58 So if your life is going in the wrong direction, your marriage, 49:04 your habits, whatever it is, if you're going in one direction, 49:09 the direction of sin, conversion means making a U-turn, 49:13 and coming in the opposite direction away from that. 49:16 And so it says: Repent therefore, and be converted. 49:20 And now notice this: that your sins may be what? blotted out. 49:26 Do you know that that expression, blotted out, 49:28 is not the same as remission in chapter 2, verse 38, 49:31 and it's the same person who is speaking, Peter. 49:34 It must be that he's trying to teach a separate lesson from 49:39 the idea of remission of sin. 49:41 He says, Repent and be converted that your sins 49:43 may be blotted out. 49:44 So is repentance and conversion a condition 49:47 for the blotting out of sin? Yes. 49:50 Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. 49:55 And now notice what it continues saying. 49:57 Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. 50:01 And then what comes as a result of the blotting out of sins? 50:04 So that... Is the blotting out of sins a condition for what 50:11 we're going to talk about now? 50:12 Is it a condition? So that, what does so that mean? 50:15 It means that you have to do this, 50:16 in order for this to take place. 50:17 By the way, that expression, blotted out, does not mean to 50:23 forgive or to remit, it means to wipe out. 50:27 It's the same word that is used in Revelation 21:4 where 50:32 it says that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 50:41 Notice, the tear is gone. 50:44 It's talking here about blotting out sin, not forgiveness. 50:49 Forgiveness is receiving, received every day 50:51 in the daily service. 50:53 This is talking about the yearly service. 50:54 It says, Repent and be converted, that your sins 50:58 may be blotted out, so that... notice... times of refreshing 51:04 may come from the presence of the Lord. 51:06 What are those times of refreshing? 51:08 What event is being described here, the times of refreshing? 51:11 Somebody want to tell me what it means? 51:15 It's talking about the outpouring of what? 51:19 of the Holy Spirit are the times of refreshing. 51:22 So let me ask you, Do we need to repent, and turn around our 51:28 life through the power of the Lord, and have our sins blotted 51:33 out so that the times of refreshing can come to us? 51:38 Absolutely. And you say, No wonder we haven't received 51:43 the times of refreshing. 51:46 See God can't fill what's full. 51:49 We're full of self in everything that we do: 51:53 the way we use our time, the way we use our money, 51:56 the way we use our talents, the way we use our influence. 51:59 Everything is centered in ourselves. 52:01 So how can God give us the times of refreshing unless 52:05 sin has been remitted, unless sin has been blotted out, 52:08 because of victory over sin. 52:10 And now notice the next event. 52:13 It says, once again, Repent therefore and be converted 52:17 that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing 52:22 may come from the presence of the Lord... 52:24 And now notice this. 52:25 ...and that... What does that mean? and that? 52:34 It says, so that what? notice. 52:38 ...and that He may send whom? Jesus Christ, 52:44 who was preached to you before. 52:47 And then it says, in verse 21: whom heaven must receive,... 52:53 That is His ascension. 52:54 ...until the times of restoration of all things. 52:57 That's when He comes. 52:59 ...which God has spoken by the mouth of all His prophets 53:02 since the world began. 53:04 Four steps in this verse: repent and be converted. 53:07 That's the condition. 53:09 So that, if you repent and your life is turned around, 53:12 you've gained the victory through the 53:14 power of God over sin. 53:16 Sin is blotted out, and now you're prepared to receive what? 53:20 the refreshing, the latter rain. 53:23 And as a result of receiving the latter rain, 53:27 what is God going to do? 53:28 He is going to send Jesus back to this earth to restore 53:34 all things as they were at the very beginning. 53:39 So there's a work for us as we bring this to a 53:43 conclusion this morning. 53:45 You know, we've been talking about catching up to Jesus. 53:48 Do you know that this message about going into the sanctuary, 53:54 gaining the victory over sin, and having your sins blotted 53:59 out from the sanctuary, that's the message of Revelation 18. 54:02 God is going to have a people who receive the power of the 54:03 Holy Spirit, who are going to go out and they're going to fill 54:06 the earth with the glory of the Lord. 54:07 Ellen White says that that's the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 54:10 And they will say, Babylon is fallen, is fallen. 54:13 And they will make the call, Come out of her my people, 54:18 so that you can experience the same experience 54:20 that God has given to those who have entered 54:23 the most holy place with Jesus Christ. 54:26 Do you know how the churches are going to react to that message? 54:31 Allow me to read you a statement from the Spirit of Prophecy. 54:34 When that message is proclaimed to the world, 54:38 Ellen White says this: The clergy will put forth almost 54:45 super human efforts to shut away the light 54:48 lest it should shine upon their flocks. 54:51 By every means at their command they will endeavor to suppress 54:57 the discussion of these vital questions. 55:00 Nothing new under the sun. 55:03 It happened in all of the previous four stages. 55:05 It's going to happen at the end of time as well. 55:08 So God is going to publicize this event through a people. 55:12 And, by the way, allow me to say this: There will be no more 55:16 catching up to Jesus after this point. 55:23 The people who experience what we've talked about this morning, 55:26 they will have fully caught up to Jesus. 55:28 They will be in the most holy place with Jesus, and they will 55:31 be experiencing forgiveness, and victory over sin. 55:37 Because as soon as Jesus is finished with this work, 55:40 the Bible tells us that the door of probation is going to close. 55:46 And we're told in Revelation 15 that the temple is going to 55:50 be filled with smoke. 55:52 And no one will be able to enter the heavenly temple until the 55:58 seven last plagues are ended. 56:01 So now is the time, folks, for us to dedicate our lives totally 56:08 and completely on the altar of sacrifice, 56:11 without any reservations. 56:12 You know, if we were on an airplane, and we start losing 56:19 altitude because two of the engines went out, 56:21 and it only has three engines. 56:23 You know, it's a 727. 56:27 And the pilot says, We have to start throwing things overboard. 56:33 Would you be willing to throw overboard your precious things, 56:38 or would you rather have the plane crash 56:40 and die in the plane crash? 56:41 I'll be you anything, we'd throw over anything that we had 56:45 in order to survive. 56:47 And yet we're on a plane ride to heaven, and we're so loaded 56:52 down that the plane is in a crash mode, and we hang onto 56:56 all of our stuff, and all of our money, and all of our talents, 57:01 and all of our influence. 57:02 We hang onto it as if we're going to make it to heaven 57:05 with an overloaded airplane. 57:08 It's time, folks, to put everything 57:10 on the altar of sacrifice, to get serious about the Lord, 57:14 and to dedicate our all, without reservations, to Him. 57:19 And I pray to God that this will be a reality for those of us 57:24 who are gathered here, and those who will be watching 57:27 this programming on television. |
Revised 2016-09-01